Not So Nice Guy
by scoobydoobydude
Summary: What if Robert wasn't the guy he pretended to be? Contains violence. There may be some trigger warnings in the following chapters. This is my first story so please review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a typical morning at the Foster's home. Stef and Lena were getting ready in their room, Brandon got ready as fast as possible so he could practice for his Idllywild audition, Jude was waiting for breakfast, Jesus and Mariana were fighting over the bathroom, and Callie was just waking up.

"Lena, don't forget that we need to be in the judge's chambers at noon. So we need to get the kids and lea-" Stef said but was soon cut off by her wife.

"Yes, we need to leave at 11:30 at the very latest. Honey, Robert signed the papers. Everything is going to be fine. I promise!" Lena smiled and tried to reassure her wife. She knew Stef had been waiting for this moment for months and was positive another obstacle was going to get in their way.

"I'm sorry. But you know that the judge has a clear biased towards the Quinns. Did you see how upset he was when Robert said he was withdrawing his bid for custody? It seems that he would rather send Callie back into the system before letting her come and live with us. I just can't wait for this to be over," Stef hadn't noticed it but she was consistently getting louder and louder.

"Stef, come here," Lena opened her arms to her upset wife, "Today is the day we adopt our daughter. Now, how ridiculous does that sound? Callie is already our daughter and nothing is going to change that. Today, we just sign the papers so no one can ever take her from us again." Stef let out a sigh and Lena knew she couldn't get through her wife's stubbornness. Stef wouldn't be relaxed until the day was over.

Ten minutes later everyone was around the kitchen table eating breakfast.

"Oh my God! I can't believe Caitlyn. Ugh, why does she have to be such a b-" Mariana caught herself. "Sorry... its just that she is always trying to undermine our dance team. I guess she's just upset that her team won't be representing Anchor Beach at state."

"Moms, is it cool if I go to Emma's after school? She is going to help me study for the history quiz on Wednesday." Jesus said, completely disregarding Mariana.

Lena eyed Mariana, trying to tell her they would talk later but answered Jesus. "Yes, that's fine as long as you aren't behind closed doors young man."

"We won't, I promise!"

Stef smiled at her son, but turned her attention to Callie who had been silent all morning. "Let's go talk for a minute, love." She whispered to Callie. Stef grabbed Callie's hand and led her to the living room. No one was paying attention to them. Mariana was showing texts to Jesus, Jude and Lena were talking, and Brandon was playing air piano. When they sat down on the couch Stef smiled and said, "Tell me what's going on in your head, Callie. Please?"

"Nothing. I'm fine, really" Callie tried to sound sincere, but she knew her excuse wouldn't get past Stef.

"No. Tell me the truth. I don't want anymore of this deflecting nonsense. I just want to talk, that's all."

Callie sighed, and let down her guard. "Something is going to go wrong today. I just know it. Last time everything seemed perfect, but then I found out about Robert and he turned everything upside down and inside out. I just can't deal with anymore bad news."

Stef smiled sadly at Callie. She couldn't stand to see her daughter go through anymore pain. "I'm going to be honest with you right now, okay? I'm scared too. I want nothing more than for today to be a perfect day for you. How about you text me or mama whenever you feel something might go wrong. If you go anywhere or do anything that might seem out of sorts, just let us know." She could see the questions running throught Callie's mind. "No, it will absolutely not annoy us. Yes, I do mean anything at any time. Oh, sweetie. I wish I could just keep you home with me today. Hmm... maybe I could talk to mama and we could get your tests rearranged for today. Would you like to do that?"

"I would, but I can't. I already missed two days last week from when I was sick. I have to go today. But, yeah. I guess I will do that. Anything at any time?"

Stef smiled. "Yes, my love. Anything at anytime."


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is chapter 2! I hope you enjoy this as well. Again, sorry the chapter is so short. This was all my mind could muster up!**

Chapter 2

Callie walked around school with a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Different scenarios kept running through her mind of thing that could go wrong. What if the judge is sick today? Or what if Robert convinces the judge to let him fight for custody again? What if this, what if that... She kept telling herself just to relax and everything would be okay. Right then, she got a text from Robert.

Callie, something came up. Are you in class? Can I call you?

What could it be that he needed to talk to her? She hoped everyting was okay and replied:

No I'm not in class, free period just started. Go ahead and call.

Her phone started buzzing as soon as she sent the text. "Hey, what's going on?" She answered.

"It's Sophia. She is talking crazy saying she is going to kill herself. I just told her that we aren't fighting for custody of you anymore and she got very upset. She says she wants to talk to you and only you. We are going to take her to the hospital. Do you think your moms would think its okay if I picked you up and brought you with me?" Robert sounded very distressed and Callie didn't want Sophia to do anything stupid.

"Umm, I think so. I have to be leaving for the courthouse in two hours. But I will ask Lena and text you in a couple minutes. Tell Sophia that I will try my hardest to be with her, okay?"

"Okay, thanks so much Callie."

Callie hung up her phone and headed straight to Lena's office. Luckily no one was in there when she arrived.

"Hey, sweetie, are you okay?" Lena always tried to look tough in the midst of a crisis, but today her true feelings were pushing through.

"Uh, yeah kinda. Robert just called me and told me that Sophia is really upset and is talking about killing herself again. I guess she only wants to talk to me. Jill and Robert took her to the hospital. He wants to know if he can pick me up and take me to see her. I'd really like to go. I don't want her to try and hurt herself again."

"Um.. yes of course you can go. Maybe I should call mom and have her meet you there."

"Yeah, that would be nice. I guess I will see you at the courthouse later." Callie was planning on calling Stef anyway. She really didn't like Callie to be alone with Robert after what he had done.

"Okay, see you sweets."

Callie smiled as she walked out of Lena's office and texted Robert.

I can go. When will you be here?

Robert replied immediately with:

I just pulled in. Right by the south doors.

Robert stood next to his car waving at Callie. She walked quickly to him and got in the passenger's seat.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to come. I know it will make Sophia feel a lot better. I just... I thought she was getting better and now this? I can't believe it."

"Everything is going to be okay. I promise. Jill is with her now and she is at the hospital. I'm sure everyone has a close eye on her. She can't do anything with them around. She'll be fine, Robert." She placed her hand on his forearm and he tensed immediately. She couldn't tell if it was because of the touch or because she called him Robert. "What hospital is she at?"

"Sacred Cross. It is the closest to our house." The look on his face was pure terror. Callie felt so bad, because in her mind she had caused this. Maybe if she just wouldn't have agreed to meet Sophia none of this would have happened.

Sophia is at Sacred Cross. We should be there in about five minutes. See you then.

Callie felt a little pang of guilt as she texted Stef, but he didn't notice. Would Robert be upset that she brought Stef with her? Robert sped down the road to get to his daughter. But he was so aloof that he missed his turn.

"Hey, you missed you turn. I know this is scary but you do want to arrive in one piece don't you?" Callie was slightly annoyed. She understood that he was scared, but he really needed to pay attention. Robert stared straight ahead. He didn't slow down to make a U-turn or even to turn at the next block. "Robert! What are you doing? The hospital is way back there! STOP!" Callie grew even more upset because it seemed as if he had no intention of slowing down at all.

"I'm sorry Callie, but this is just something that I have to do. This is for the best. The best for the you, me, and our family."

"What are you talking about OUR family?" Worry started spreading through Callie. "What do you mean Robert! Tell me!"

Robert drove silently, getting further and further away from the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**I decided to give you ch. 3 as well because the chapters are SO short and I feel bad!**

Chapter 3

"Please just tell me where we are going. You're scaring me." Callie pleaded with Robert. They were now no where close to Sacred Heart.

"I can't let those dykes adopt you. You are my daughter. You might now believe it now, but I'm saving you from them. They will try and push their lifestyle on you and I will not let on of MY daughters be gay. Absolutely not. Don't worry. We are going far away from here."

"So everything about Sophia was a lie? Just to get me to come with you? You are kidnapping me Robert! Let me out of the car! I promise I won't tell anyone. Please just let me go." Callie cried. How could this be happening?

"I'm sorry, I just can't do that. And no more of this 'Robert' garbage. I'm your father. From now on you will call me dad. And don't worry. Jill and Sophia are completely on board with this. We are going to live in the mountains. It's so beautiful Cal! You'll love it!" He was... giddy. Smiling and laughing.

"You are delusional! Do you really think that I am going to be okay with this?! You are not my dad! I don't love you and I never will. I hate you and your family! You're just a bunch of freaks! I want to get out of this car!" Callie unbuckled her seatbelt, unlocked the door and pushed it open. She was getting ready to jump out when Robert grabbed her hair and pulled her back in. "NO! LET ME GO!"

"I can't do that! You will kill yourself if you jump at this speed!"

"That would be better that living with you!" Callied screamed and spit at him.

"I thought you would try something like this." Robert slowed enough so he could control the car with one hand and focus on Callie at the same time. He pulled something shiney out of his pocket. Handcuffs. Quickly, he snapped one ring on Callie's left wrist and the other to the saftey bar above her.

"What the hell?! This is crazy! I promise, if you just let me go I won't cut you out of my life. I'll still come visit, and Sophia can even come over to my house!"

Robert didn't answer. He just sped up and drove. Callie's phone vibrated.

Where are you? You said you would be here soon. I can't find you anywhere. Text me back immediately.

Stef! Callie had forgotten that she would be meeting her mom at the hospital. She tried to be discreet as she replied to Stef. Her phone was the only way she could be found.

HELP! Not going to hospital. HE LIED. Robert is going crazy, taking me to the mountains to live with him. PLEASE COME GET ME!

As soon as Stef read the text she was on her feet. She called Mike and had him look up all of the property Robert owned. Luckily Mike only found one house in the mountains. It was about six hours away. Stef also had Mike track Callie's phone. The tracker said Callie and Robert were en route for the house.

"I'll keep the tracker going and let you know if they stop or change also says she has a full battery, so we will be good for a long time. I am sending unmarked cars to follow them. I alerted the local police station and they willl be looking for his car. Don't worry Stef, we will get her back." Mike was as terrified as his ex-wife. He had grown to love every single one of her children. He hated seeing them in pain or danger just as much as herand Lena.

"Thanks Mike. I have to call Lena now. Call me with ANY change." Stef hung up the phone and immediately dialed Lena.

"Hey sweetie, how is Callie? Did she calm Sophia down at all?"

"Lena," Stef began to cry, "Robert made everything up. He is taking Callie to his house in the mountains. I am coming to pick you up and then we are going out there to get her. The police are on their way."

"Oh my God. I should have taken her myself. I'm so sorry Stef. This is all my fault. I shouldn' have even let her go!" Lena was a mess. She felt like she had let her own daughter get kidnapped.

"No, love! This is not your fault at all. The only one to blame is Robert. He is a monster. Do not put that kind of stress on yourself."

"Okay, your right. But, what do I tell Jude? He is going to be upset when we don't come get him to go to the courthouse."

"Have Monte tell him that something came up and we will explain later. We can't have him worrying all day wondering where we are. I'm going to be there very soon. I'll talk to you then. I love you." Stef clicked her phone off. Nothing was going to get in her way of getting her daughter back now. She reached down to her hip and felt her gun. It was fully loaded and Stef was ready to use it if necessary. As soon as she pulled into Anchor Beach parking lot she texted Callie back.

Don't worry love. We are on our way to get you and the police will be following you soon. Don't let him know you have your phone. We are tracking you through it. And don't use it either, you need to save it's battery. I love you. Be brave. We will be there before you know it.

Callie read the text from Stef and closed everything that she wasn't using. Luckily Robert was completely oblivious to what was happening. She sent her mom a quick text.

Love you too. Tell everyone I love them. Please hurry mommy. I'm so scared.

She put her phone back in her pocket and stayed silent for hours. Robert tried to make small talk and even made some jokes. But nothing worked. Callie stared out the window and eventually fell asleep.

 **By the way, if you have any suggestions please let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Callie was woken up several hours later by Robert unlocking the hand cuffs.

"Get away from me!" Callie snapped. "Don't touch me, don't do anything! I'm not getting out of this car. Forget about it."

"But we're home! You have to some see the view Cal. It's amazing! And you are going to love your room. Jill and Sophia decorated it while they waited for us to get here."

"I said no. I will not go in that house. Leave me alone! The only way I will get out of this car is if it is parked in front on MY home in San Diego. Plus, I hate the mountains." Callie rubbed her wrist. There was a red mark on it an some cuts. They were bleeding and would most likely scar. She knew they wouldn't be the only thing that would scar her from this.

Suddenly a rage overcame Robert. He slammed his door and marched to the other side of the door. He ripped open the passenger's door and grabbed Callie by the collar on her shirt. He pulled her out of the car and made her stand up. "Don't you dare talk to your father like that! Now go inside! I will have none of this, young lady! GO!" Robert was screaming. Jill and Sophia must have heard because they were coming out of the house.

"I. HATE. YOU. You are a bastard! I'll never ever love you!" Callie scream right back. She pulled her head back and spit at him again.

"You little..." Robert wiped his face.

Callie struggled to get away, but his grip was to firm. She looked up and saw his fist coming at her. Before she could move, everything went black.

 _"Stef, I just got a call from the local police. They saw Robert turn to go up to his driveway. But I guess something big came up. They all had to leave to help with whatever happened. But I'm still tracking her phone and they are at the house. How close are you?"_

 _"What?! Why couldn't one car stay and go get her? Don't they know this is a kidnapping? This is ridiculous Mike!" Stef was so angry she could hardly keep the car straight. Lena saw what was happening so she reached over and took the phone from Stef._

 _"Hey Mike, its Lena."_

 _"Man, I haven't heard her get that angry in a long time. Anyway, how close are you?"_

 _"We should be there in about an hour. Are the unmarked cars ahead of us?"_

 _"Yeah not by much. They will probably get there ten minutes before you. Please call me once you have her back."_

 _"We will Mike. Thank you so much. We owe you big time."_

 _"Wanna know how you can pay me back? Let me have five minutets alone with that creep. I'll make him wish he never knew about Callie."_

 _"Gladly, take ten if you'd like! Thanks again. Talk to you soon." Lena hung up and turned to her fuming wife. "Stef, do you want me to drive the rest of the way? You can take a break and just relax for a little while."_

 _"No, switching spots will just take time we don't have to spare. Thank you honey, but I'm fine, really." Stef tried to smile at her wife, but sadness and anger took its place._

 _"Okay, you're right." Lena hated seeing Stef so sad. "I love you."_

 _Stef look over at Lena and smiled as she took her hand. "I love you too."_

Callie came to with her head pounding. She tried to reach for her head but something stopped her. She looked to her hands and saw they were tied to the bed, and saw that her feet were too. She started screaming. "ROBERT! What did you do?! LET ME GO!"

Jill came running into Callie's room and sat down next to her. "Sweetie, you are fine. We just couldn't have you waking up and running away from us." Jill tried to stroke Callie's hair, but Callie quickly recoiled.

"Don't touch me. I won't run, I promise. Can you please just untie me? I'm not going anywhere. I don't even know where I am so how in the world would I escape?"

Jill cringed at the word "escape" but released Callie's limbs anyway. Callie immediately curled up into a ball on the bed. When Jill spoke again, she jumped. "Your father is making hamburgers on the grill. Do you want cheese on yours?"

How can she just be acting like everything is normal? "I'm not hungry. And, Jill, will you tell everyone that I just want to be alone?"

"Sure honey. And you will be calling me mom, not Jill." She turned and walked swiftly out of the room. Is she being serious?

Callie felt down to her pants pocket and felt the bulge of her phone. Thank God! She reached up to her head. When she brought her hand back down she saw something that almost made her pass out: blood. She got up and went over to a mirror. She saw a huge gash on her head that lead from the left side of her forehead and disappeared into her hair. Her right cheek was swollen and had a small, deep cut. Anger filled her. She knew Robert was a bastard for trying to get custody, but now she knew he was a monster.

Callie looked out of the window and saw her captors on the patio laughing and having a good time. She drew the curtains and quickly ran to the door and locked it. She pulled out her phone and dialed Stef.

"Come on! Pick up!" Callie pleaded with the rings, willing her mom to answer the phone.

"Callie! Oh sweetie are you alright? We will be there soon. I'm so sorry." Stef was crying on the other end and Callie could hear Lena sniffling.

"I'm fine. Just please hurry. I'm so scared mom." She was crying now too. She wanted nothing more than to run to her mothers and hug them.

"We will honey. Be brave, love. Hold on, mama wants to talk to you."

"Hi baby. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault! I shouldn't have let you go or I should have driven you myself. I'll make this up to you, I promise! I'm so, so sorry." Lena was sobbing. She couldn't forgive herself for letting her daughter get kidnapped.

"It's okay mama. It's not your fault, just his. I love you. What did you tell Jude? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. I just told him that something came up and we would be home late tonight. Don't worry. We will be there very, very soon! We need to go now. We can't let your battery die. Mom wants to say goodbye. I love you, Callie."

"Bye mama. I love you too."

"I love you so much Callie. Be strong okay?" Stef tried to sound tough for her daughter, but her voice was breaking.

"I will mom. I love you." Callie hung up her phone and slid it back into her pocket. As soon as she did, someone was knocking on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Sophia!" Callie walked slowly to the door and unlocked it. As soon as it was open Sophia pushed past her and plopped down on the bed.

"What do you want? I'm really not in the mood to talk to any of you." Callie didn't even try to hide her disgust.

"Isn't this great?! We are finally a family! And don't you just love this house? It is sooo much better than the one in the city. Up here no one can bother us. And don't worry. The Foster's will never find you up here. It's so secluded. You are definitely safe."

" _Safe_? You think you are saving me? Damn, you REALLY are crazy, you know that? I wish I would have never met you. You and your creepy family have ruined my life! You tore me out of the one house that I felt loved and secure. Why in the world would I want to come live with some pretentious snobs? If you havn't realized it yet, I hate you Sophia! I hate you, Robert, and Jill! Just get away from me!"

"Callie, I know you think you are happy with those people, but you will be much better off with us. We can provide so much more for you. Oh, that reminds me! We should walk down to the stables. Dad got us each a horse! Isn't that cool?" Callie was flabbergasted by Sophia's ignorance/stupidity.

"OUT! GET OUT OF HERE! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Callie was as furious as she had ever been before.

"Okay, maybe once you have adjusted. See you later Callie!" Sophia chirped as she practically skipped out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay so I keep forgetting to put in the disclaimer that I do not own anything! Also, I made up the town in this chapter and if the geography isn't quite correct, I apologize! (I'm from Illinois so I'm not very educated on California's geography haha). Please keep reviewing! I love hearing what you all have to say! Thanks so much for the support!**

Chapter 5

 _ **Jude walked home with Jesus and Mariana as questions swam through his mind. What came up that caused Callie's adoption to be postponed? Did she runaway again? Was it Robert? Did Stef and Lena change their minds? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.**_

 _ **"Hey, I'm sure everything is fine. Don't worry buddy. Moms will call us soon and let us know what is going on." Jesus pulled his brother close to him, trying to make him less scared. But to be honest, Jesus was just as terrified. He and Callie really hadn't talked a bunch, but he still loved her and hated when things got in her way.**_

 _ **"Yeah, I'm sure the judge was just sick or something. Maybe one of his cases ran long." Mariana joined in on her brother's conversation, also trying to put Jude's mind at ease.**_

 _ **"I guess. It's just that nothing ever goes right for her, you know? I just wanted this to go perfect, and it's not. It's been hours! They should have called by now! I'm going to call Callie." Jude couldn't accept his siblings reassurance.**_

 _ **"Jude, don't! What if they are in the judge's chambers right now? He would be so mad if her phone started ringing. Just let it be and wait for them to call us." Jesus quickly grabbed Jude's phone and pocketed it.**_

 _ **"Whatever!" Jude was too upset so he ran ahead of Jesus and Mariana.**_

 _ **The twins looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking. It was Mariana who spoke first. "Something is wrong. They would have called or texted us by now. I talked to Brandon at lunch and he said he hadn't heard anything either. It's been six hours Jesus! What could possibly be so wrong that it is taking six hours?"**_

 _ **"I don't know. But its freaking me out. Maybe we should text moms." Jesus saw Mariana's face scrunch. "Don't worry. Everything will work out."**_

 _ **"Crap! We have a home phone! Jude is going to try and call Callie." Mariana looked at Jesus and they both took off sprinting. It was only a couple blocks to home.**_

 _ **Jesus was way faster than Mariana or Jude and he caught his brother as he was dialing. He practically dove across the kitchen table to stop him.**_

 _ **"Jude! We said no! You can't do this. Give me the phone. NOW!" Jesus wrestled the phone away from Jude with ease. "Just stop. You have to trust me. Let's go play some video games. What do you say?"**_

 _ **"I say stop treating me like a baby! I'm thirteen! I can handle myself. I don't want play with you, Jesus. Just leave me alone." Jude stormed upstairs and slammed his door.**_

 _ **Mariana came in shortly after. "Where... is... he...?" She was completely worn out. "Did he call?**_

 _ **"No, I got here just in time. But he is pretty pissed. Damn, Mariana. Take a lap once in a while!" Jesus teased his sister, trying to lighten the mood.**_

 _ **"Very funny!" Mariana tried to joke back, but she was just too worried. "I'm going to text mama."**_

 _ **What is going on? Jude is freaking out and so are we. Please tell us what happended.**_

 _ **Will xplain when we get home 2nite. Dnt worry. Luv u all.**_

 _ **Mariana laughed at they way her mother texted. "Mama says don't worry. They will explain when they get home**_."

 _Stef and Lena sped down the interstate searching for their exit. Silence had taken over the car. Both ladies were trying to think of something to say to comfort the other. Thankfully Stef's phone buzzed to break the tension. "Hello?"_

 _"Hey, Foster. This is Officer Kent. Tap your breaks real quick. I want to see if I am behind you."_

 _"Hey Danny." Stef quickly tapped her breaks. "Did you see it?"_

 _"Yep. We are all following you. Do we have an ETA?"_

 _"The next exit is ours. After that, I would say five minutes." Stef's heart started pounding and her palms started to sweat. She hadn't realized how close she was to Callie._

 _"Okay, see you then. And Stef... I'm really sorry."_

 _"Thanks Dan." Stef hung up her phone and smiled weakly at her wife. "We're getting really close. Are you ready?"_

 _"Honey, I've been ready to kick that son of a bitch in the balls for months. And now I finally get my turn." Lena smirked at Stef, trying to mask her nerves._

 _Stef turned her attention back to the road. She exited off of the interstate and looked for her turn. "Lena, will you text Callie and tell her we are almost there?"_

Callie paced around the room waiting for her mothers to arrive. She became increasingly panicked with each passing minute.

 **Getting very close. B there soon. Luv u Callie.**

Callie smiled at her phone. She didn't notice that Robert had walked into the room.

"What's up Cal?" His voice caused her to jump and cringe at the same time. She turned to face him and pushed her phone under the mattress.

"Nothing. What do you want?" Callie spit.

"I just want to talk to my daughter. Is that so bad?"

"Um, yes? First of all, I am not your daughter. Biologically? Yeah, but not legally. I never will. Do you really think that my moms won't notice that I am missing? They will look for me. And who do you think they will investigate first? You, Robert! I told them I was going to the hospital with you. YOU are the primary suspect here!" Callie was fuming. She wanted nothing more than to see Robert and Jill put in handcuffs.

This had angered Robert. He couldn't understand why Callie was so upset. Didn't she know that he loved her? He made his way across the room until he was standing in front of her. He was so angry that he was shaking. "Don't talk to your father that and never EVER call those people your moms again! Jill is your mother now! And I want to hear you say it. Say I am your father. Do it now!" Callie stared back in silence. She would never give him what he wanted. This only made him even angrier. He pulled his fist back and struck Callie in the ribs, hard. She gasped for air in pain only to be met with a series of more hits and slaps. She fell to the floor and tried to protect herself from the blows. But this only put her next to Robert's feet, which he used.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Callie cowered on the floor until the blows ended. She didn't dare look up at Robert who was still fuming above her. His breaths were heavy and uneven, but he eventually calmed down enough to speak.

"Oh, Callie, I'm so sorry. I.. I don't know what came over me! Please, just look at me Cal."

"Stop calling me that!" Callie was weak and out of breath, but she used all of her strength to pull herself on to the bed. "J- just leave me alone. I don't want to be near you."

"Let me help you at least, please?" Robert tried to scoop Callie into his arms but she fought with everything she had.

"No! Do not touch me! Look at what you have done. I thought you were a decent guy. I couldn't have been more wrong! You just beat me! I hate you!"

Robert finally understood and left the room silently. Once she could no longer hear his footsteps, Callie made her way to the vanity to examine her injuries. She had several cuts and marks on her face, most of which were bleeding. She lifted her shirt to reveal bruises already forming. Her body was destroyed, and so was her mind. Everything hurt, but her heart hurt the most. Callie sat on the window seat to watch for her moms.

Time seemed to pass very slowly. They should have been there by now, something definitely felt off. But, just as Callie began to give up hope, several cars pulled up the driveway and countless officers piled out of each. Her eyes scanned the quickly forming crowd for her moms. How hard could it be?

"Callie! We have to go! The police just showed up, they are going to try and take you from us. Let's go sweetie!" Jill and Sophia rushed into the room, shoving clothes into bags.

"Absolutely not! My moms are here to resc-" Callie was interrupted by Jill grabbing her collar.

"You listen, and you listen good. Your father wants nothing more than for you to be a part of his life. He WILL get what he wants, now MOVE!" The older woman began dragging Callie, but her adrenaline took over and Callie fought back. She twisted out of Jills grip and lunged to the window. She hit her elbow against it to break the glass and she held a jagged, sharp piece out in front of herself as protection.

"Stay away from me! Get. BACK!" Callie's eyes were wild with fear. Jill quickly grabbed her daughter and ran from Callie, down the stairs. Callie turned back to the window and immediately spotted a blonde and a brunette. "Moms! Up here! Mom, Mama! Help me!" she screamed until her lungs burned. Stef and Lena looked up to where their daughter was and moved quickly into the house.

Stef and Lena stopped their SUV at the entrance to the Quinn's driveway to quickly hear what the plan was.

"Officer Kent will lead us followed by Daniels, Marks, and Burns. Foster, you will bring up the rear. Now everyone, listen. The primary is to get the girl. Once she is safe we can move in to detain the suspects." Captain Roberts was talking to everyone, but her eyes never left Stef.

"Suspects! There are no suspects here, Captain. That monster kidnapped my daughter. It was him! I have texts from her! He is 100% guilty! And her name is Callie, not 'the girl'" Stef fumed.

"Okay, Stef, I believe you. I'm sorry. Once Callie is safe, we will detain the perpetrators. Better?"

"Yes, sorry Captain."

The officers climbed back into their respective squad cars and began the drive up the mountain. They drove slowly so they wouldn't make much noise. But once Kent had a clear shot of the house, he went floored it and blocked the exit. Everyone jumped out and drew their weapons. Multiple guns were pointed at Robert on the patio. He immediately threw his hands in the air.

"On the ground, now! Hands behind your head. I said down Quinn!" Captain Roberts barked orders from behind her service weapon.

"Okay, everyone just relax. Can I ask what is going on here? Is something wrong?" Robert tried to play the innocent card.

"I have movement in house! Burns, we're moving in!" Daniels put his hand on his partners shoulder and moved swiftly into the cabin.

"Where is she Robert? Tell me where my daughter is!" Lena's voice was shakey, but she sounded as tough as she could.

"Lena, what are you talking about? Is Callie missing?" Robert sounded genuinely blindsided.

"Shut up, scumbag. Just tell us where the girl is." Officer Kent slapped cold handcuffs on Robert's wrists and roughly pulled him to a standing position. "Don't want to talk? Fine by me. Put him in the car Marks." The sound of breaking glass caught everyones attention, but no one seemed to know where it came from. That was until Stef and Lena heard their daughter's petrified voice.

"Moms! Up here! Mom, Mama! Help me!" Stef was moving before Callie finished her plea and Lena wasn't very far behind. As they made their way up the stairs, with Captain Roberts on their heals, all three women ran straight into Jill and Sophia.

"Stef? Lena? What's going on?" Jill inquired.

"Like you don't know, you evil bit-!" Stef bit her tongue. "Captain, will you please take these two down to a squad car?"

"Sure thing Foster. Be careful ladies." Captain Roberts grabbed Jill and Sophia and led them quickly away from the fuming mothers.

Once they were out of sight, Stef fell into Lena. "I can't believe this is happening. How did this happen?"

"I don't know babe. We need to go find our daughter now, okay?" Lena held her physically upset wife. Normally Stef was the one who kept everything together and allowed Lena to fall apart a little. But Lena knew the bond Stef and Callie shared, so she allowed her wife to be broken this time.

"Callie? Love, where are you? It's us! Please, let us know where you are!" Stef quickly opened and closed doors after finding no evidence of Callie. "There are so many damn rooms up here!"

"Oh, God! STEF! I found her, we need an ambulance." Lena cried from the room at the far end of the hall.

Stef ran as fast as she could to the room and skidded to a stop. "Oh, Callie! What did he do to you?" Stef entered the scene to find Lena cradling their daughter who was clinging to consciousness. Stef grabbed her radio off of her shoulder and all but screamed into the thing, "This is Officer Stefanie Foster. I am at 347 Flagstaff Drive. I need a bus immediately. I repeat: 11-42! I am responding to a 246 of a minor. Can I get an ETA?"

"10-4 Foster. Ten minutes out." Stef sighed a sigh of relief. "Come on, let's move her downstairs."

"Stef, we should wait for the paramedics to move her. She could be worse off than we know." Lena spoke in a hushed tone so she would not worry her injured daughter.

"Yeah, I guess. Callie, love, I need you to keep your eyes open. Look at me, look at mommy. Tell me what happened."

"Robert... bastard," was all Callie could get out. Stef and Lena tried to muffle their laughter.

"Stay with us Callie! Keep those pretty eyes open for me." A female paramedic strapped Callie to the stretcher as her male partner ran across the patio to the waiting ambulance. The police had cleared out, with the exception of Captain Roberts, and were heading to the precinct with Robert, Jill, and Sophia in tow.

"Stef you ride with her, I'll drive." Lena pulled her wife in for a hug before giving her a peck on the cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The ride to the hospital was only fifteen minutes, but to Stef it lasted an eternity. Once the ambulance came to a halt, Stef leaped out followed by two EMTs who pulled an unconscious Callie out.

"We called ahead. We came from Flagstaff. She needs help immediately." The female paramedic ran along side Callie on the stretcher with a team of doctors following behind.

"Get her into trauma room two. Dammit! I lost her heartbeat. PADDLES!" The doctor quickly cut Callie's shirt away from her chest and shocked her.

"Callie! Don't you dare give up on me! Again. Clear!" The doctor pushed medicine through an IV a nurse placed.

Stef maneuvered her way through a swarm of medical personnel to be by her daughter's side. "Callie, love, I need you to come back to me. Please, I'm not ready for you to go. Please, Callie, please!" Stef was crying freely, something she rarely did, but she couldn't help herself.

"We have a rhythm. It's weak, but it's definitely there. Okay, we need to get her to CT." The doctor turned her attention to Stef. "I'm pretty sure she has internal bleeding. Her abdomen is very rigid and distended. It is beginning to become discolored which is another indicator of internal injury. What happened to her? Any details would be helpful."

"Stef! Where is she? Is she okay? What's happening?" Lena came flying through the ER doors.

"They just took her to get some scans. Dr. West just asked what happened to her." Stef hugged her wife. "Sorry, this is my wife, Lena. We are adopting Callie. Her biological father kidnapped her today and from what we can tell he beat the hell out of her."

"Okay, did Callie say anything to you when you found her?" Dr. West questioned.

Lena smirked as she looked at her wife. "Yes, uh... she said 'Robert... bastard'."

"Well it is good to see that she still has a sense of humor. I'm glad to hear that she was talking, that is a very good sign." The doctor's pager began to beep. "Callie's scans are ready. I am going to go review them. I will have a nurse come update you. Do I have your permission to operate if necessary? You will need to sign some forms, but just in case, may I? Also, what is your daughter's blood type?"

"Yes, of course you can operate. And I don't know her blood type. She has only been with us for eight months. Her medical records were lost years ago." Stef shook her head, mad at herself for knowing so little about her daughter.

"Not a problem. A nurse will be out shortly to update you." And with that, the doctor turned and walked away.

"I'm going to fill out the forms. Will you call the kids?" Stef asked her wife.

"Sure. What do I tell them?"

"I'm not sure... the truth?" Stef smiled weakly.

Lena returned the smile. "I'll figure something out." She pulled out her phone and slowly dialed, dreading the conversation she was about to have. The phone rang several times but eventually Mariana picked up.

"Hello?" Lena could tell he daughter had been crying.

"Hey baby, its mama. Is everyone home? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're all here. What's going on? Is Callie okay?" Mariana became more and more worried with each passing minute.

"Um, no. She isn't okay." Lena sighed and mentally prepared herself. "Robert tricked her into coming with him to see Sophia. He told her that Sophia was threatening to kill herself. Callie thought she was going to see her sister in the hospital, but it was a lie. He kidnapped Callie. He was trying to force her to live with him. I'm not sure what made him do it, other than him being insane, but he beat her up pretty good. We are at the hospital now. Mom and I are waiting to get an update from the nurse. We will be staying the night here. Brandon is in charge, do you hear me? You can skip school tomorrow and drive up here if you want."

"Oh my God! What a bastard! Sorry. I didn't mean that. Actually, I did! He's such a bastard. We will definitely be up there tomorrow. What town are you in? And how do we explain this to Jude?" Mariana questioned her mother. Her heart shattered into a million pieces for her sister.

"We are in Flagstaff. And don't give Jude any details. Just tell him she was hurt. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow sweetie. Be careful tomorrow. Have B call us later tonight."

"I will. I love you. Bye mama."

 _ **Mariana hung up the phone and sunk to the floor.**_

 _ **"Hey, are you okay?" Brandon entered the kitchen and sat next to his sister.**_

 _ **"Robert kidnapped Callie and beat her up. Moms have her now at the hospital. They said you are in charge and we can skip school tomorrow to go up there. They're in Flagstaff. Can we go? Please, Brandon?" Mariana's eyes filled with tears as she pleaded with Brandon.**_

 _ **"Flagstaff? That's like... six hours away. Damn... Yes, of course we will go. Let's leave late tonight, like eleven. We will get there early tomorrow." Brandon leaned over to Mariana and hugged her tightly.**_

 _ **"Thanks. Moms want you to call them tonight. I need to go find Jude and try to gently explain this to him. He is going to be so worried." Mariana got up slowly to go find her little brother.**_

 _ **Jude was in his room, but on Jesus' bed. Jesus was sitting with him, his arms around his younger brother. Mariana smiled, but it quickly disappeared when she saw her brothers crying.**_

 _ **"Hey guys." Mariana was crying now too. She joined them on the bed and sat on Jude's other side. "Moms called a couple minutes ago. They are in Flagstaff with Callie. She got hurt. But they said we can go see her tomorrow. B wants to leave at eleven tonight so we can get there early tomorrow morning. You okay buddy?" Mariana wiped a tear off of Jude's cheek, and then Jesus'.**_

 _ **"How did she get hurt? Was it Robert?" Jude was angry, and rightfully so.**_

 _ **"I'm not sure. Moms didn't give me any details. You should pack a bag in case we stay for a couple days. And maybe you could bring some stuff for Callie. Maybe some books and magazines?"**_

 _ **"Okay, I'll go do that." Jude climbed off the bed and disappeared into his sister's room.**_

 _ **"Jesus, she is in bad shape. Robert beat the crap out of her. But, don't tell Jude. Moms don't want him panicked."**_

 _ **"I knew it. I'm gonna give that creep a piece of my mind. And by mind, I mean fist. Let's see how he likes it." Jesus was fuming. No one messed with his family.**_

 _ **"Cool it. I need to go pack some stuff and get clothes for moms. Be ready to go, we are leaving soon.**_

 _ **Jesus nodded, but he was secretly planning his revenge on his sister's attacker.**_

"I told you already, I don't know her blood type! I don't know her medical history! She has only been with us for a little while. Her records got lost long before she came to us!" Stef was screaming at the receptionist.

"Some mother you are." The nurse muttered.

"Excuse me?! What in the hell did you just say to me? I outta..." Stef snatched the forms off the counter and stormed to the waiting room. "Lena, I am going to kill that woman. She just accused me of being a bad mother for not knowing Callie's medical history. How could we know? Lena?" Stef looked at her wife who was staring off into space.

"I should have gone with her. I should have drove her myself. This is all my fault." Lena kept repeating the same three sentences over and over.

"No, Lena. Don't do this to yourself. Listen, you are not to blame. Robert is the one who did something wrong, not you, love! Please believe me Lena."

Lena turned to her wife with tears pouring out of her eyes. "I'm so sorry Stef. I'm so sorry." Lena collapsed into Stef, sobbing uncontrollably. Stef took her wife in her arms and rocked her like she rocked her children.

"It's okay. I'm not mad. I promise." Stef stroked Lena's hair until her sobs disolved to sniffles.

"Adams-Foster?" A young nurse walked out of a set of double doors, calling their name.

"That's us." Stef and Lena shot up and ran to the nurse. "How is she? How is our daughter?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Callie is going to be okay. She has no internal bleeding, which was our biggest concern. She does have several cracked ribs. One of them is puncturing her lung and it is making it very difficult for her to breathe. Dr. West is going to operate on that shortly." The nurse looked down at Callie's chart dreading what he had to say next. "We have also found a hematoma on Callie's brain. It isn't very big, but it is growing slowly. We will keep an eye on it. We will most likely not have to operate."

Lena looked from Stef to the nurse with confusion filling her face. "Hematoma? What is that?"

"That means that Callie's brain is bleeding. It's like a bruise. If it gets bigger, a neurosurgeon will be called in to operate. Your daughter is very lucky. Things could have been much worse." The nurse smiled sadly and walked away from Callie's mothers.

"Lucky? He thinks she is lucky? What a load of crap!" Stef fumed.

"Honey, he is right. She could have been so much worse off. We are lucky that we got to her in time. Please, just be thankful that our daughter is going to live. I know you're upset, but we have to keep a cool head right now, for Callie." Lena pulled Stef into a tight hug. Stef relaxed into her wife, letting a few tears escape. "Dr. West is coming." Lena whispered.

"Hello ladies. I am getting ready to operate on Callie's punctured lung. It should be a fairly quick and simple operation. Luckily, her rib didn't shatter, it was a clean break. I will be out in a few hours when to procedure is over. She is going to be fine." Dr. West didn't wait for a reply, she just turned at walked briskly to the operating room.

"We should go sit. Maybe we can call the kids at home." Lena grabbed Stef's hand to walk to the waiting room, but Stef wouldn't budge. "What is it honey?"

Stef held her tears back as best she could. "My baby... my baby is going into surgery. All I want is to go hold her, but I can't. Lena, what if something goes wrong? What if she... dies?"

"No, absolutely not! We cannot think like that, okay? Callie needs us to be strong for her. Let's go sit and wait."

"Uhm, I am going to go get us some coffees from the cafeteria. You stay and call the kids. I'll be right back." Stef leaned over to Lena and pecked her on the cheek. As she rounded the corner towards the cafeteria, she pulled out her phone and dialed Mike. "Come on Mike! Pick up the damn phone!"

"Hey, how is she?" Mike sounded exhausted, but also relieved.

"Better than they thought. They had to fix her lung, but she should be fine. We are waiting now for the doctor to finish. Mike, I need you to be honest with me here. What is Robert saying? Have they gotten anywhere with him, or Jill? What about Sophia? Is she protecting her parents?" Stef rambled off question after question.

"Slow down Stef. Robert is saying Callie wanted to come with him. He is saying that Callie told him you and Lena hurt her, not him. Jill is backing up his story, and Sophia shut down. She isn't saying anything at all. Don't worry, they won't get away with this."

"What a... never mind. I have to go. I told Lena I was getting us coffee ten minutes ago. Call me with any updates, okay?"

"Got it Stef. Tell Callie I say hello. I'll be out to visit in couple days if that's okay."

"Sure Mike. Thanks again, bye." Stef hung up her phone and walked back to get the coffees.

When she returned to her wife, she was on the phone talking to Jude.

"Callie is in surgery right now. They had to fix her lung. No, she is not going to die." Lena paused for a minute and Stef could hear her son shouting on the other end. "Sweetie, calm down. Your sister is going to be fine. She is just going to be hurting for awhile." Another pause. "Jude, watch your language. I understand that you're angry but that is no excuse to talk like that. Put Brandon on please." Lena handed the phone to Stef. "I have to go to the restroom. Talk to B."

"Hey B. How is everyone doing?" Stef sat in the chair, resting her head in her hand.

"Jude is really worked up. He refuses to leave Callie's bed. Mariana is with him now. Do you and mama want some extra clothes when we come out?"

"Yes, that would be lovely. Bring enough for a few days. I'm not sure how long Callie is going to need to be here. Bring some stuff for her too. Books, pictures, homework. She is going to be bored out of her brains. And, B, have Mariana pick out our outfits. No offense, I mean..." Stef joked with her son, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, I don't blame you. You would end up looking homeless if I picked it out." Brandon gave a small laugh, but it soon disappeared. "Mom? Please tell me Callie is going to make it. I mean, first you get shot, then mama lost Frankie. I just... we just can't handle anymore bad stuff."

"Don't worry baby. Callie is going to pull through, it's just going to take her some time. I need to go now. I'll see you soon B. I love you. Tell your brothers and sister that we love and miss them too."

"I will. Bye mom, I love you too.

 _ **"Mariana, Jude, Jesus! Let's go! It's almost midnight. I wanted to leave an hour ago!" Brandon yelled up the stairs to his siblings, angry that they were so late.**_

 _ **"It's Mariana and Jude's fault dude. Mariana won't stop fixing her make-up and Jude won't get out of Callie's bed. I was just waiting for you to say we were leaving, so don't get all pissy with me." Jesus walked into the kitchen and packed some snacks for the road.**_

 _ **"Whatever. I'll just get them myself." Brandon stomped up the stairs and decided to get Mariana first. "Hey, we need to go! You're just going to be sleeping in the car anyway so don't worry about how you look."**_

 _ **"I don't want to look gross when I walk into the hospital. You never know who you are going to run into, Brandon." Mariana smirked at her brother.**_

 _ **"Well, you look good... or whatever. Just go downstairs and wait for us okay? We really need to get going." Brandon ushered Mariana out of the bathroom and headed for his sister's room. He found Jude asleep on Callie's bed, tucked in under the covers. Brandon smiled at the site. "Jude, buddy, we need to go now. We are going to go see Callie and moms now."**_

 _ **Jude rolled over and looked at his older brother with sad eyes. "I'm scared. I know that moms say she is going to be okay, but what if something goes wrong?" Jude sat up and put his head in his hands. "Nothing ever goes right for her." He muttered.**_

 _ **"Well, I can't promise you that nothing is going to go wrong. Stuff like that just... happens. But we need to go see her. I'm sure she just wants to see you and make sure you are going to be okay. Did you pack a bag? We are going to be there for a few days."**_

 _ **"Jesus packed one for me. I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be down in a minute." Jude crawled out of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom.**_

 _ **Brandon walked quickly to the kitchen to find his brother and sister at the table, waiting patiently. "Can you guys do me a favor? Keep Jude occupied during the ride. I don't want him mulling over everything for six hours. It will drive him insane."**_

 _ **"Sure. Mariana, you can have the front. I'll sit in the back with Jude." Jesus said to his sister.**_

 _ **"Thanks Jesus. I put all of our stuff in the car, so we are ready to go." Mariana was more than ready to go. She needed to be with her sister.**_

 _ **"I'm ready! Can we bring some snacks?" Jude bounded down the stairs.**_

 _ **"I already packed some! We're ready so let's hit the road!" Jesus opened the door, only to be met with rain pelting him. "What the! Of course it decides to storm tonight!"**_

 _ **"Well, this is going to be a fun drive!" Brandon said sarcastically.**_

Four hours later Callie was out of surgery. Dr. West walked quickly down the corridor to her patient's nervous mothers. "Callie did great. She is heading up to recovery now. I'll take you to see her if you would like."

"Yes, please do!" Stef stood, taking Lena's hand. All three women walked quickly down the hall, but stopped before entering Callie's room.

"I'm going to warn you before you go in: Callie looks really bad. She is bruised and cut up. Everything will heal, it will just take some time. Just... prepare yourselves. It's always scary to see one of your children in such bad condition.

"Okay. Can we see her now?" Lena squeezed Stef's hand because she knew horrible thoughts were running through her wife's mind.

Dr. West opened the door to reveal a girl that looked nothing like Stef and Lena's lively daughter. Callie looked small and weak. Her skin was pale, her eyes sunken in, and her face was more blue and black than anything else.

"Oh Callie! We're here baby. Don't worry. Your mommies are here love." Stef ran to her daughter's bed side and gently grabbed her hand.

"She will be waking up any time now. Don't be afraid to page if you need anything." Dr. West hung Callie's chart on the end of her bed and shut the door behind her as she walked out of the room. A nurse walked in almost immediately after the doctor left.

"I'm sorry, I just need to look at her levels really quick. And I'm sorry we had to put her in the pediatric wing. There was a train wreck today so the general wing is full. If a spot opens, we will move her so she is more comfortable." The nurse checked Callie's levels and walked out.

"Hmm, I think Callie would love the butterflies and princesses on her walls, don't you?" Stef smirked at her wife, who smiled back.

"Oh yes! Callie is definitely our girly girl."

"I think you are mistaking me for Mariana." Callie said weakly as she smiled at her mothers.

"Callie! You're awake. How are you feeling? Do you need anything? I can get you some water. Are you IVs okay? I can call the nurse and have her readjust them." Stef rambled off questions, trying to find the right thing to say.

Callie smiled but began to cry. "Everything hurts. My head is pounding and I feel like someone dropped a boulder on my ribs. Please, make it stop mommy. I just want it to stop." Callie whimpered as her mothers took her hands.

"I will go get the doctor to see if she will raise your medication. I'm so happy you are okay sweetie. I'll be right back." Lena leaned down and kissed her daughter on top of her head. As she did so, Callie winced.

Once Lena was out of the room, Callie looked up at Stef and started crying again. "What happened? Why am I in the hospital? Was I in a car accident?"

Stef stared dumbfounded at her daughter, not knowing how to answer her questions. "What is the last thing you remember?" She asked inquisitively.

"I remember talking to you this morning. After that... nothing." Callie began to shake. "Why can't I remember? What happened to me?"

Stef sat on the edge of Callie's bed and sandwiched one of her daughter's hands in between her own. "This is going to be hard for you to hear, so if you want me to stop, just tell me. Robert texted you and told you that Sophia was talking about killing herself again. He tricked you into coming with you to see her at the hospital, but everything was a lie. He... he kidnapped you and was going to force you to live with him in the mountains. I don't know what happened while you were there, but he did... beat you." Callie gasped and began to sob at the words her mother was speaking. "I'm so sorry Callie. I know this isn't who you wanted him to be, but don't you worry. We are going to put his ass in prison for a long time."

"Why? Why would he do this? I wasn't going to cut him out of my life! I was still going to talk to him and Sophia! I can't believe this!"

Stef climbed into the bed next to Callie and wrapped her into her arms. "I know baby, I know." Stef hummed to Callie trying to calm her sobs. Eventually Callie's breaths evened out and she fell asleep cuddled up to her mom.

Twenty minutes later Lena returned with Dr. West.

"I have raised her pain medication some. I don't want to raise it too high because it is easily addictive. I see she has fallen asleep, which is good she needs to rest a lot to heal quickly. If she wakes and is still in a considerable amount of pain, call me back in and I will see what I can do. I assume one or both of you will be staying?"

"Yes, Stef is staying. I am going to go check into a hotel." Lena answered quickly.

"Okay, well then I will have a bed set up for you shortly. Do you have any questions?"

"Callie can't remember anything. What's wrong with her? Is it the brain bleed?" Stef asked worriedly.

"No no. This is a common reaction after a traumatic injury. This is Callie's brain trying to protect her from what just happened. Once she is healed a little more she should start to remember what happened exactly." Dr. West smiled at Stef and Lena trying to reassure them that their daughter would be fine.

"Okay, thank you." Stef returned Dr. West's smile and waited for her to leave before she spoke to Lena. "Are you sure you don't want to stay too? We could wait to check in until tomorrow."

"No, I want to get settled before the kids get here. Plus, I don't want to overwhelm Callie if she wakes up again tonight. It would probably be better if you were just here with her. Actually, I'm going to go now. Call me if anything happens okay?" Lena leaned over to her wife and kissed her quickly on the cheek. She moved to the other side of the bed so she could reach Callie. "Mama loves you baby. Stay strong." Lena planted a kiss on Callie's head and turned before Stef could see her crying. Lena didn't want to leave, but she needed too. She couldn't stand looking at Callie, knowing that if she had just went with her daughter nothing would have happened.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Stef had fallen asleep next to Callie but was woken up by someone shaking her.

"Mom... mom! Wake up!" Stef heard her daughter's voice and sat up to check on her, but Callie was sound asleep. "Did you sleep there all night?"

"Mariana? What are you guys doing here? It's 8 am. You should be leaving the house now. You must've left the house at 2 am!" Stef was furious with her children. Brandon knew better than to drive in the middle of the night.

"No, we left at midnight but we had to pull over because the storm was so bad. We just got here." Brandon tried to explain quickly so his mom wouldn't be too furious.

"Storm? What are you talking about?" Stef rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and quickly climbed out of Callie's bed.

"We are talking about this storm!" Jesus walked to the window and pulled the curtains back. Rain pelted the hospital window and the wind was blowing like crazy. "I guess there is a hurricane or something moving in from Long Beach."

"Where is mama?" Mariana sat down on Callie's bed and gently began brushing her sister's hair.

"Mama went to go check into the hotel. We will be stay for a few days at least. Did you all pack a bag?"

"Yeah, we packed enough for a week." Brandon moved over to his mother and gave her a gentle hug. "How is she?" Everyone in the room turned their attention to Callie.

"She's... she's doing okay. The doctor said she did very well in surgery. We don't know when we can take her home, but it won't be anytime soon." Stef looked at Jude who was still standing in the doorway looking terrified. "Jude, Callie is going to be fine. She just needs time to heal. You can come sit with her if you want."

"That's not Callie. That's not my sister. My sister is strong and... that's just not her!" Jude ran out of the room with tears streaming down his face.

"Jude! Come back, love!" Stef made a move for the door but was stopped by Jesus.

"Let me, please." Jesus took off down the hall in the direction of his younger brother.

"Jesus has been really good with Jude since all of this happened." Mariana explained to her confused mother. The two boys never really got along.

Jesus was searching all over the hospital. How could Jude have gotten so far away in such a short period of time.

"Jude! Come on dude! Let's just talk!" Jesus was checking in empty rooms and under beds in the hallway.

"Go away Jesus!" A small voice came from behind the nurses station.

"Jude! You can't be back here." Jesus reached for his brother but he flinched away.

"I said go away. I just want to be left alone." Jude buried his face in his knees and turned away from Jesus.

"If you don't come with me I am going to pick you up and carry you out of here. I really don't want to do that, but I will. So just stand up and talk to me." Jude didn't move a muscle. "Fine!" Jesus leaned down and pulled his little brother into his arms. Jude put up a fight, but Jesus easily controlled him.

"Stop it Jesus! Put me down!"

"No! You are going to come with me and talk!" Jesus tightened his hold on Jude to get better control of him. Jude broke down and relaxed.

"This can't be happening." Jude looked up with sad eyes. "What if... what if she dies? I can't live without my sister. She's the only person who has ever been there for me." Jude started crying and Jesus sat in a chair with his brother on his lap.

"Hey, she isn't going to die. Callie is so strong. She is going to make it through this. It isn't going to be an easy road, but she will get better. Do you know what she needs right now?" Jesus felt Jude shake his head. "She needs you to be strong for her. I know it has been the other way around for a long time, but she needs you now. Can you do that for her?"

Jude sniffled. "Yeah. I can do that. It's just so hard to see her like that. She doesn't even look like herself. There are so many bruises and cuts on her. The next time I see Robert... I swear I'm gonna-" Jude was cut off by Jesus.

"No, Jude! There has already been enough violence. Don't even think about it. Got it?" Jude nodded. Jesus knew he couldn't admit it, but he was already planning something special for Robert. He just hated being a hypocrite to his family.

Jesus walked Jude slowly back to Callie's room. Once the boys walked into the room, they saw Lena had arrived and Jude sat next to his sister and took her hand.

"I know moms and the doctor say you're going to be okay, but I need you to listen to me okay?" Jude wiped his tears quickly, hoping no one would see. "Since we were little, you've been the strong one. You have protected me from everything. You're all I have Callie. I can't lose you." Jude stopped caring if everyone saw him cry and began to sob. "I need you to be strong one more time. Just one more time and then I promise I will from then on. I love you. Please... please don't die. I love you." Jude slumped down and hugged his sister gently.

"Careful buddy. Callie has been through a lot today." Lena walked over to her son and pulled him off of his sister. "Come sit with me sweetie." Lena and Jude sat in a chair and Jude climbed on his mother's lap and sobbed.

"Callie is going to be fine. We just need to give her time to heal. She isn't going to die, okay?" Stef looked all around the room at her grief stricken family. "She isn't going to die." She repeated but mostly to calm and reassure herself.

"Mom? Mommy, are you here?" Callie tried to sit up but Stef ran to her bedside and stopped her.

"I'm here baby. We're all here. Don't try and sit up okay? Brandon go find a nurse or a doctor." Brandon bolted out of the room before his mother could even finish her sentence. "How are you feeling Callie? What do you remember?" Stef sat on the bed and stroked Callie's hair.

"I remember everything. I remember him lying to me and... beating me." Callie looked to Stef with a heartbreaking look in her eyes. "It hurt so bad. He wouldn't stop! Why would he do this? I thought he loved me!"

"I don't know sweetie. But Robert is going to pay for what he did to you."

"Yeah, don't worry about it Callie. There's no way in hell that douche is getting away with this. I'm going to make sure of it." Jesus jumped out of his seat and rushed to Callie's side. "I won't let it happen. I promise." He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Jesus, watch it. And whatever you're thinking, stop." Lena warned.

"Sorry." Jesus walked back to his seat looking defeated.

"Mike is working around the clock on your case. Robert is going to be behind bars for a long time. We're going to get him Cal." Stef kissed her daughter's forehead and felt her flinch.

"Um, please don't call me that anymore. Cal, I mean. He kept calling me that and I'm afraid if I keep hearing it I'm just going to be reminded of what happened. Sorry." Callie felt embarrassed for saying it.

Stef looked sadly at her daughter, upset Robert ruined something so simple for Callie. "Don't be sorry. You don't need to be sorry for anything, okay?"

"Okay." Callie smiled and looked around for Jude. "Is Jude here?"

"I'm right here!" Jude was up in an instant and by Callie's bedside before anyone could blink. "I'm right here sissy." He had tears in his eyes as he spoke.

"Hey, I'm okay! Don't be sad buddy." Callie tried to soothe her upset little brother.

"I'm sorry. I just... I'm trying to be strong for you. It's just hard to see you like this."

"You don't have to be strong for me. We aren't alone anymore."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to take Callie for a CT scan." Dr. West walked quickly to Callie's bed and moved her to a more portable monitor. "If one of you would like, you can come with."

"You go Stef. I'll take the kids to the hotel to get situated."

"No! I want to stay with Callie. I'm not going anywhere." Jude protested but was quickly silenced by Callie.

"Jude, you need to listen to mama. I'm going to be fine. If anything changes I'm sure mom will call, okay?" Jude's look of determination wasn't fading. "Jude. You need to go. Now!"

"Fine. But I want to come back early tomorrow. Please mama?" Jude understood that he wasn't going to get his way so he tried to play the innocent card.

"We will be here as soon as visiting hours start, okay?" Jude nodded. "Okay then. Let's go everyone. We will take the SUV and leave the Toyota here for you, okay?"

"Thanks love. Bye babies! Love you all. And please be careful in that storm. Call me once you get to the hotel, okay?" Stef kissed Lena goodbye and hugged each of her children.

Lena nodded and ushered the kids out of the room. "If you just want to follow me Mrs. Foster. CT is just down the hall and this should only take a few minutes." Dr. West turned her attention to Callie. "Hopefully this will be your last one!"

"Why am I getting this test? Am I okay?" Callie looked from Stef to her doctor worriedly.

"Well, we just need to keep a close eye on the brain bleed to make sure it doesn't get any bigger."

"Brain bleed?! My brain is bleeding? What the hell did he do to me!" Callie began to hyperventilate.

"Callie, honey, I need you to calm down for me okay? Yes, your brain is bleeding, but it is small. There is no reason that it shouldn't have cleared up on it's own." Dr. West checked Callie's pulse to make sure it didn't rise too high. Callie's breathing evened out but she began to cry.

"Mom, I'm scared. Why did this have to happen?"

"I don't know sweetie, but we are going to get him." Stef stroked Callie's hair trying to calm her.

"I'm sorry, but you will have to stay out here. The test will only take about ten minutes. We will be out shortly." Dr. West smiled weakly at Stef and wheeled Callie into the CT room.

Stef nodded and took a seat next to the doors. Different scenarios were running through her mind of what could happen to Callie. The bleed could be cleared up by now and she will be ready to go home in a couple days. Or, the bleed could not have cleared up at all and Callie will have to stay longer. What if the bleed got worse and they need to operate? What if her daughter dies? Now Stef began to hyperventilate but was soon interrupted by her phone buzzing in her lap. "Hello?"

"You are receving a collect call from the Freeport County Jail. Would you like to accept?" An automated voice spoke to Stef.

"Yes, I'll accept." Stef waited a few seconds for someone to speak.

"Stef? I need to talk to you. Please don't hang up on me," Robert's voice slithered through the phone and made chills run up and down Stef's back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Why would I want to hear anything you have to say?"

"Please just hear me out. I don't know what came over me. I just get so mad sometimes that I can't controll myself. I wanted to know how Callie is? I'd like to speak with her."

"You want to know how she is?!" Stef was nearly yelling. "Okay, well right now she is having a CT scan to make sure her brain bleed is resolving. She has shattered ribs and she is so covered in bruises that she can barely blink without screaming in pain. THAT is how she is. Do not call me again. And trust me, we are putting your ass in prison for a long time. Goodbye, Robert." Stef began to hang up the phone but she heard Robert yelling on the other end.

"No wait! Stef please!"

"What do you want now?!"

"You can't keep me from my daughter. I will get her back and I will make sure you never EVER see or talk to her again. Do you understand me? I will make your life a living hell!"

"I hope you know that these phone calls are recorded. You just added threatening a police officer to your charges. Have a crappy life in prison." Stef didn't even say goodbye this time and tossed her phone into her purse. She looked up to see the doors opening and Callie being wheeled out.

"Well, we have good news! The bleed is clearing up! It is going a little slower than I would like so she is going to need to stay in the ICU for at least another night. But, I can get a nurse to set up a cot in her room for you."

"Thank you, that would be great." Stef smiled at Dr. West but immediately turned her attention to Callie. "How are you feeling, love?"

"I'm fine, just tired." Callie gave her mom a weak half smile and turned her face so Stef couldn't see her.

"Jason is going to take Callie back to her room. I'm on call tonight, so please don't hesitate to page me if needed." Dr. West hung Callie's chart on the end of her bed and walked swiftly down the hallway.

"Sup. I'm Jason, I guess I'm supposed to take you back to your room or whatever."

Stef was shocked at the boy's lack of professionalism. "Yeah, uhh.. right down the hall. Room 629."

Jason unlocked the brakes on Callie's bed and began to wheel her down the hall. "So, like, what are you in here for anyway? Did you like get in an accident or something?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Callie sighed, wishing she was asleep.

"Sorry dude. Just trying to be friendly, that's all." Jason glanced around his shoulder and accidentally ran Callie's bed into a door frame.

"Watch it buddy! She's injured, pay closer attention next time!" Stef was fuming.

"I'm sorry! I'm just an orderly!"

"Take a hike!" Stef maneuvered her way in between Jason and the bed and started pushing.

"Hey lady! I'm really not supposed to let anybody but me push the bed. You know, liability and all?"

"I said take a hike kid! I don't give a crap about your liability issues. You just ran my daughter into the door frame, not me!" Stef turned, not even waiting for the teen's response. Once they reached the room, Callie's tears flowed freely.

"Why did you have to do that?! He was just trying to do his job and you freaked out on him!" Callie raised her voice in anger, but she soon realized that she was not angry with her mom. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

Stef tried to wipe the shocked expression off of her face, but it was pretty difficult. Callie had never raised her voice at either of her moms. She walked over and sat next to her daughter, careful not to sit on her IV lines. "It's okay. You have the right to be angry. You have the right to yell and scream until your heart is content." Stef gently stroked Callie's hair.

"That's not what I want to do..." Callie pulled away from Stef.

"Then what do you want to? Just tell me and I'll help you do it." Stef moved closer to her daughter, only wanting to take her pain away.

Callie smirked, "Yeah... you really can't do that. You would go to prison."

"Ahh, I see. I'm guessing you want to do to Robert what he did to you. That's understandable Callie, but-"

"No, that isn't it either. Look, I really don't want to talk about this. I just want to sleep."

"Callie, please talk to me. I hate seeing you in this much pain. It will help if you talk about it." Stef felt the tears welling up in her eyes and quickly blinked them away.

"Do you really want to know? Because I don't think you do." Callie turned and looked at her mother who nodded quickly. Callie sighed. "I want... to..."

"It's okay love. Just tell me what it is you want."

"I want to die okay! Nothing is going right and it never will! I hate my life. So, do you REALLY want to help me with that still? Because if you do, hand over your gun and I'll get it over with right now!" Callie was screaming and tears were pouring out of her eyes.

Stef was completely shocked. She rotated slightly so her holstered gun was out of reach of her daughter. "Callie, sweetie, you don't want to die. I know it may feel like that right now, but you will get through this!"

"Whatever." Callie turned away from her mother again.

"Callie! I understand that you are hurting and I understand that you are pissed off at Robert. You have every right to be! But, you have no right to be smart with me! All I want is to help you, that's all I have ever wanted but you make it so damn hard! Why can't you just let me in? I love you so much and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy. So, PLEASE, just break this wall down Callie. Please!"

Callie's eyes grew wide with fear. Stef had never yelled at her. She had only been stern with her, like when she ran away to get Jude or when Mariana got drunk. Tears began to fill her eyes. "I'm sorry! Please just don't hurt me! I won't do it again, I promise!" Callie pulled her arms up above her head and curled into a ball to protect herself.

Stef saw how frightened her daughter became and immediately broke down. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get so mad and I will never ever hurt you! You never have to worry about that, okay?" Stef gently stroked her daughter's curly brown hair and tried to calm her down.

After about ten minutes, Callie finally turned and looked at Stef. "I'm sorry, I really am. I know you would never hurt me. It's just... instinct I guess. and I thought Robert truly loved me and look what he did. And you say you all really do love me, so I guess it's just hard for me to trust what anyone says anymore. And I'm sorry I don't let you in. It's just... well, I really don't expect you to understand."

"Try me." Stef smiled at Callie trying to encourage her to go on.

Callie sighed and decided it was finally time to trust her mom. "It's just when you're in the system you have to learn that you can't trust anybody. Not your foster parents and not the kid that sleeps down the hall from you. The ONLY person I have been able to trust and rely on in six years is Jude. He's the only thing I have ever had. I guess I just got used to having almost no one. And then all of the sudden, I was dropped into your house and I had five more people who really cared for me. It was just a lot to take in. I'm still getting used to it. I'll try to be better. I promise."

Stef was so happy that her daughter was finally starting to open up, but she was also so saddened by what she was hearing. "Callie, I am so sorry that you haven't had anyone to look out for you in so long. But I promise you this: Mama and I will always be here. No matter what happens. You and Jude are our children just like Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana. I wish that it wouldn't have taken you so long to find us. Actually... can I tell you something?" Callie nodded and Stef sighed trying to prepare herself for what she was about to say. "Callie, I wish you would have never come into our home."

Callie stared up in disbelief at Stef. "Wha- what? I don't get it you JUST said that-"

"I wasn't finished. I wish you would have never come into our home because I wish you could be with your birth parents more than anything. I would give everything I have to bring your mama back to you. It is so unfair what happened to you, but it _did_ happen. And because it did, I'm so glad we found you. Do you get what I'm trying to tell you love?"

Callie smiled, "I do. You scared me for a second. But even though I had those ten years with my parents, I'm glad to have you and mama as my parents. You are so much more than I could have ever asked for."

Stef tried to choke back tears but they came anyway. "I love you so, so much you sweet girl!" Stef's phone started to buzz. "That's mama calling. Try and get some more rest, I'll be back soon." Stef kissed Callie's cheek and went to the hall to answer Lena's call. "Hey love. Did you make it to the hotel okay?

"Yeah, the kids are settling in. How's Callie doing?"

"Well, Dr. West said her bleed is clearing up but she does need to stay in ICU for another night just to be safe. But Lena, we are making progress with her!" Stef was almost giggling into the phone.

"That's wonderful news! So she should be okay to come home soon, right?"

"Well, yeah, but that really wasn't the kind of progress I was talking about. Lena, she opened up to me! She talked about what she was feeling! Our baby is finally starting to break down her walls!"

Lena was ecstatic, "Oh Stef that is wonderful! I think the kids and I are going to stop back by in a little bit. Do you think she is up for some visitors?"

"Yes, I think she would like that. Oh hold on a sec... I'm getting another call. Be right back." Stef quickly switched over to the other line. "Hello?"

"Hey Stef it's Mike."

"Hey Mike. Look, I got Lena on the other line. Can I call you back in a little bit?" Stef was eager to talk to her wife some more.

"This won't take long. Two things. 1. Captain Roberts wants you and Lena down here pronto. She needs to get your statements and wants the two of you here together." Mike was hesitating, not wanting to say what came next.

"Okay, yeah we can do that. But you said two things. What is the other thing Mike?"

Mike sighed heavily, "Uh... Robert made bail. He's out. But he has strict orders to not go anywhere close to the hospital."

"Bail?! That creep made _bail?_ What in the... Fine. Okay. I will have Lena come drop the kids off here with Callie and then we will be on our way. Be there soon." Stef hung up with Mike and switched back to Lena. "Sorry about that. It was Mike. He said Captain Roberts wants down to the station asap to go over our statements. And... Robert somehow made bail."

"What? He WHAT?" Lena was infuriated.

"I'm sorry love. But it's the truth. Please don't tell the kids. I don't want them worrying about it and we definitely can't have them telling Callie. She will just get really scared and we won't be there to be with her. Just bring the kids by the hospital so they can be with her and the two of us will go to the station, okay?"

"Okay, we will be there soon. I love you."

"Love you to babe, see you soon."

 **Uh oh! So Robert is out on bail! What do you guys think is going to happen? Let me know!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

One hour later, Lena and the kids were walking down the hall to Callie's room to meet Stef.

"Hey guys! Make sure you're quiet when you go in. She just fell asleep and she really needs her rest. Mama and I will be back in a couple of hours. Be good, okay?" Stef hugged her family in the hallways in front of Callie's room.

"We will!" All four kids barreled into their sister's room as they answered their mom in unison.

"Alright, well we better get this show on the road!" Stef put her arm around her wife and walked her swiftly down the hallway and to the car.

Back up in Callie's room, the siblings were gathered in a protective circle around their sister.

Mariana looked at each of her brothers, wishing she could take away the pain she saw on their faces. She walked over to Jude and put her arm around him. "How you doin' buddy?"

Jude leaned into his sister, but looked at Jesus as he answered. "I'm good. It's my turn to be strong for Callie."

Jesus smiled at fist bumped Jude from across the bed. "Stayin' strong!" He said in reply.

Brandon looked down at his watch. It was nearly eleven o'clock and his stomach was starting to growl. "I'm going to go get some snacks from the vending machine. You guys want anything?"

Jesus and Jude both said they would take whatever, but Mariana just looked at her brothers in disgust. "Ew, those 'snacks' are just full of trans fat and sodium. I seriously don't get how you can eat that crap."

"So that's a no, I take it?" Brandon teased his sister. Mariana gave him a look that said "Well duh!" so he smiled and turned to leave, but ran into a nurse. "Oh, I'm so sorry. That was my fault."

"No, apologies necessary. I need to speak to one of your parents. Are they here?" The petite nurse looked from kid to kid.

"Uh no. Our moms had to go up to the police station to give their statements and fill out some paperwork. But they should be back in a few hours. Can we give them a message?" Mariana stepped forward as the spokeswoman of the group.

"They aren't here? Oh, um, who's the oldest out of all of you?" Her face grew concerned.

"I am. I'm 16, why?" Brandon lurched forward.

"16? I'm sorry, but anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult in the ICU. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave and sit in the waiting room down the hallway."

"No, we can't. We have to stay with our sister!" Jesus popped up and stood in front of Callie defensively.

"I'm sorry kids. But you really have to go." She looked around and saw that none of the siblings were moving. "If there is going to be an issue here I can call security and have them escort you out if you'd like."

"Come on guys, let's just go." Mariana led her brothers out of the door, but turned around quickly. "Where did you say that waiting room is?"

"Go all the way down this hallway, make a right. Go down a little ways and you will find it on your left."

"Thanks. And if our sister wakes up, will you tell her where everyone is? Just so she knows we didn't leave her."

"Sure thing."

The kids made their way to the waiting room but Jude became furious.

"This is bull! She is all alone in there! What if something happens? What if she needs someone and we are all just gone!" He took two big strides across the hallway and shoved wheelchair into the wall.

"Hey! Knock it off Jude! We get that you are upset, okay, but you can't just go slamming things into walls!" Brandon was at his little brother's side in an instant. He grabbed Jude's shoulders trying to calm him down.

"Get off of me! You are the last person I want to talk to about this." Jude snarled. "I'm going to take a little walk. I'll be to the waiting room in a little bit." Jude took off down the hallway without wait for a response from his brothers or sister.

Mariana, Brandon, and Jesus left Jude and made their way to the waiting room. When they sat down Jesus was the first to speak. "The last time I saw Jude get even remotely as mad as he just did was when I kicked him out of our room for..."

"You mean 'Jesus Time'? Yeah, we know. It's disgusting, let's not bring that back up." Mariana teased Jesus. "He just needs some time to cool off. He'll be back to normal when he gets back."

"Speaking of which, do you think one of us should have gone with him? You know, just make sure he's okay?" Brandon asked skeptically.

"No, he's fine. I mean he is thirteen. We really do need to stop treating him like a baby. He can handle himself just fine." Jesus quickly jumped to Jude's defense. In all honesty, he felt really bad for his little brother. Everyone in the family treated him like a fragile little baby.

The three quickly dozed off while they waited for Jude to return. They had been asleep for several hours, but Jude still hadn't come back. Jude had gone back to his sister's room and sat right next to the doorway, just so he could be close to her. But, he too couldn't fight off sleep any longer and fell asleep.

As the Jude slept next to his sister's doorway, a man made his way down the hallway, making a beeline for room 629.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but only relatives are allowed right now. Who are you?" A nurse asked the man.

"I'm family. This girl in here... I'm her father. I just want to visit my daughter." Robert turned around, walked over to the nurses station, and smiled at the young nurse. "Is it alright if I go in?"

"Yes sir. My apologies! And I'm so sorry about what happened to your daughter. I heard this guy is a real monster."

The nurses words infuriated Robert, but he kept his composure. "Yeah, something like that I guess. Robert turned to go in the room and noticed Jude sleeping. He scoffed quietly, but it was enough to awake the sleeping boy.

Jude opened his eyes and saw Robert standing above him. He jumped to his feet. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing here?! SECURITY! Somebody please help me! He can't be here! He's supposed to be in jail!" Jude was screaming at the top of his lungs, but it didn't even phase Robert. Robert walked in and slammed the door in Jude's face. He barricaded the door. Jude pushed, but to no avail. Bystanders watched as he struggled but offered no help. "Is anyone going to help me? Please! That man is a monster!" Everyone turned their backs to him, minding their own business. So he took off down the hallway to the waiting room where he found his siblings sleeping.

"HEY! Wake up! He's here. Robert is here!" Jude was screaming but it did little to wake his siblings. "JESUS!"

"Wha- what's going on? Dude why are you screaming?" Jesus sat up and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"I'm screaming because Robert is here! He went into Callie's room before I could stop him and he must have locked it or something because I can't get in!" Before Jude was even finished talking Jesus had taken off down the hallway.

"Brandon! Wake up!" Jude should Brandon's shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Brandon sat up which also woke Mariana.

"What's going on? Are moms back yet?" Mariana questioned in a sleepy voice.

"Brandon, call 9-1-1! Mariana, call moms! Robert is here!" Jude took off down the hallway to help Jesus. When he arrived at Callie's door, Jesus was slamming his body into it trying to break it down. Jude started kicking at it but they were making little progress.

On the other side of the door, Robert was standing at the end of Callie's bed. The noise at the door woke her up. She started to scream, but was quickly cut off my Robert's hand over her mouth.

"How's it goin' Cal?" Robert stared down at Callie with a devilish grin on his face. "Shall we pick up where we left off?"


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter. First of all, sorry it's so short. And second of all, I don't really think its very good. Let me know what you think! This chapter contains a lot of violence!**

 **Chapter 11**

"Hey! What in the world are you boys doing?" The nurse who had kicked them out of Callie's room came running down the hall towards them.

"The guy who went in there is the guy who beat up our sister! Please, go get security!" Jude turned at yelled to the nurse.

"Security is occupied in the mental health wing. They won't be able to get over here for a long time. The man who went in there said he is the girl's father. Are you sure it's the same man?" The nurse's face grew with worry and then became skeptical.

"Yes, we're positive. Her dad did this to her." Jude whipped around again to help Jesus break down the door. As they were kicking, the power went out.

"Oh damn it! It's the storm. The back up generators will kick on soon. Except they don't power the lights. They only power the medical equipment." The nurse tried to reassure all the people around her that their loved ones would be okay.

On the other side of the barricade, Robert was terrorizing Callie.

"Why did you call them?! We could have been _so_ happy!" He held his hand over her mouth until she nearly passed out and then he released his grip.

Callie coughed and sputtered but worked up the strength to speak. "We.. would have NEVER been happy." She paused to catch her breath. "You are such... a creep!"

Robert had had enough. He smacked Callie across the face and placed his hand back over her mouth. "If I can't have you, no one can!" Just after Callie's went black, the door to her room broke open and Jude and Jesus spilled in after it.

"Hey! Get the hell off of her!" Jude rushed Robert and managed to shove the man off of his sister. But Robert was much stronger and regained his balance. He grabbed Jude by the back of the neck and shoved him forward. Jude tripped over his feet and hit his head on the railing of Callie's bed. The impact knocked him out cold.

Jesus jumped across the room and tackled Robert to the ground. He sat on top of him with his legs on either side of Robert's waist. "You prick! You've messed with my family enough! Now I'm gonna mess YOU up!" Jesus let a series of punches land on Robert's face before Robert threw Jesus off of him. Brandon and Mariana entered the room shortly after.

"Oh my God! Jude! Callie!" Mariana ran to her siblings who were both unconscious. "Nurse! I need someone in here!" A nurse ran in to help and Brandon was at Jesus' side.

"I need to go get a doctor. This boy is going to need stitches and a CT scan. He probably has a concussion and will most likely need to be admitted. Callie needs to be taken to trauma. Her breathing is very weak and I think her stitches may have ripped. I'll get security up here as soon as possible." The nurse instructed Mariana to carefully pick up Jude and carry him out to the hallway. She unlocked the breaks on Callie's bed and wheeled her out past her brother's who were in the midst of a fight with Robert.

Brandon had gotten Robert to his feet and had Robert's arms locked behind his back. Meanwhile, Jesus was letting his fists fly. Robert managed to throw his head back and hit Brandon in the face. Brandon loosened his grip just enough for Robert to escape. Robert lurched forward and began to attack Jesus.

"Security! Everyone, on the floor now! Hands behind your head and DO NOT MOVE!" Brandon complied and Jesus tried, but Robert wouldn't let him go to the ground. One of the security guards quickly crossed the room and threw Robert to the ground. All three guys were cuffed and pulled to their feet. "What in the hell is going on in here?!" The oldest of the four security guards.

"I was just trying to visit my daughter and these two jumped me! I told them I would give them my money, my keys, anything they wanted as long they wouldn't hurt me or my daughter! They just wouldn't stop! I want to press charges!" Robert lied through his teeth but Jesus cut him off.

"That is so not true! This is the guy who beat the crap out of our sister!" Jesus squirmed in the cuffs, but the guard held him back.

"Wait a second!" The oldest guard pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture. "I thought I recognized you." He turned the phone around for the rest of the room to see. It was Robert's mugshot. "You aren't supposed to be within one hundred feet of this hospital, buddy! You can cut these two loose Charlie." The guard turned his attention back to Robert. "You're going back downtown!" He led Robert out of the room with Robert screaming the whole way.

"Sorry about this guys. We will need to take your statements, but that can wait. Go down to the emergency room and get checked out."

"Thanks." Jesus said as he and his brother walked out of the room. "Oh crap, dude! Moms don't know that any of this happened. How are we supposed to tell them about his?"

Brandon looked at his brother who was obviously freaking out. He also saw the gashes on Jesus' face that needed attention. He wasn't hurt nearly as his younger brother. "Go downstairs and get cleaned up. I'll talk to moms." Jesus smiled and quickly walked away before Brandon changed his mind. Brandon pulled out his phone and nervously dialed his mom.

"Hey B, what's up?" Stef answered sounding exhausted. "Brandon? Are you there?"

"Yeah sorry. I'm here. Mom, uhh, listen. I need to tell you something."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"What happened? Is Callie alright?" Stef was panicking, and rightfully so.

"Mom, calm down! Just listen to me please. No, Callie isn't okay. Actually... Callie, Jude, Jesus, and I are not okay. Robert came to the hospital. He blocked Callie's door shut and when Jesus and Jude broke in... I guess he was hurting Callie. He threw Jude to the ground and knocked him out." Brandon was shaking as he explain the events of the last couple minutes to his mom. Everything was finally starting to sink in and he began to break down. "Jesus pulled Robert off and they got into a fight. I tried to help but Robert headbutted me. I'm so sorry mom. I should have protected them better." Brandon cried.

"No baby! None of this is your fault, do you hear me? Mama and I are on our way. Just hang on okay? I love you B. Stay strong for me. Do you think you can do that until we get there?" Stef tried to calm her son over the phone.

Brandon wiped the tears from his face before he answered. "Yeah. I can do that. Just hurry please. All of the power went out here and we are all scared and freaked out."

"It's okay. We will be there in ten minutes. Bye sweetie." Stef hung up with Brandon and went to find Lena. She saw her wife walking down the hall with their coats and the keys to the car.

"Hey babe. Ready to go?" Lena said as she gave Stef a quick kiss on the cheek. She pulled back and the smile on her face quickly disappeared as she saw the worried expression on Stef's face. "What's wrong?"

"I guess Robert went to the hospital and hurt all of our kids. Well, except Mariana I guess. I'll explain on the way to the hospital. We need to get going."

"Oh my God! He wasn't supposed to be anywhere close to the hospital! We can press charges for that right? I mean..." Lena began to cry and again blamed herself for all of this happening. She thought if she just would have taken Callie herself to meet Robert and Sophia, none of this would have happened.

"Yes, we can talk about that on the way too, but we really need to get going. Our children need us, love." Stef knew what Lena was thinking and pulled her into a tight embrace. She took the keys from Lena's hands and quickly walked her wife to the car.

Meanwhile at the hospital, the Adams-Foster siblings were getting stitched up in a dark emergency room.

Mariana was bouncing back and forth between Jude, Jesus, and Brandon. Jude was still unconscious, but the doctors said he would be fine. He needed twenty stitches to sew up the cut on his forehead that disappeared into his hair. Brandon needed only two stitches on the inside of his nose to stop it from bleeding. And Jesus was a completely different story. He had several gashes on his face, all of which required multiple stitches. His knuckles were severely torn up and two of his ribs were cracked.

"Okay, well your stitches are done, but we need to take you up to get a CT scan to make sure you don't have any internal bleeding." An elderly nurse gently wrapped Jesus' wounds and smiled sweetly at him.

"Okay. Mariana!" Jesus yelled to his sister who came running to his side.

"What! Are you okay? What's wrong? Oh God! Look at your face!" Mariana started talking at a million miles an hour.

"Dude, calm down! I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that the nurse is taking me to get some tests done. I need you to tell moms where I am if they get here before I'm back. Can you handle this? You're the only one of us who isn't physically hurt. You're in charge right now, got it?"

"Yeah, I can handle this. I'm okay. I just hate seeing you hurt." Mariana started to cry as she looked around and saw all of her injured siblings.

Jesus sighed. "Come here." He opened his arms to hug his sister and Mariana collapsed into him.

"You just... you have to be okay, got it? I don't know what I would do without you. As much as I hate you sometimes, you're still my brother and I love you. So just, don't be super broken." Mariana laughed a little as she pulled away and Jesus nodded.

"Okay, we need to move him now. He's going to be fine. You are a very good sister young lady!" The nurse offered Mariana and gentle smile and wheeled Jesus to the elevator.

Mariana wiped her tears and went to sit with Brandon, but he waved her on so she would sit with Jude, who needed her more.

"Hey buddy." She held his hand and brushed some of his hair out of his eyes. "Look, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. We don't try to treat you like a baby, it just kind of happens. We all just want you to stay the sweet little Judicorn you were when you came to us. It's hard to see you grow up so fast. But I promise, we are going to work on that. You're growing up and its time we start acting like it. So, can you _please_ open your eyes and tell me that you forgive us? Please Jude?" Mariana sighed when she was left with no response.

"Family of Callie Jacob?" Callie's doctor stood at the front of the trauma bay looking at a clipboard.

"That's me!" Mariana all but sprinted to the doctor.

"Are your moms here? I should probably speak with them."

"No, they aren't here. They were at the precinct giving their statements. I'm guessing they will be back soon, but in this weather... I wouldn't really count on it."

"Okay, well here it is. Callie needs another surgery. The stress the second attack put on her body ripped her stitches and she is bleeding. The only thing is, a second surgery that is this intense in one day is a lot for her body to handle. It could be dangerous, but it really is what we need to do. I need permission from a family member to operate. Sign here please." Dr. West handed Mariana the clipboard.

"Um, I'll be right back." Mariana ran back to Brandon and tossed it on his lap. "Callie needs another surgery, but Dr. West says it could be dangerous or whatever. What do we do?"

"Why are you putting this on me? She asked _you_!" Brandon shoved the clipboard back into Mariana's hands.

"Well your the oldest! You make the decision!"

"I have a splitting headache right now. Please, just make a decision!" Brandon laid back on his pillow and ignored his sister.

Mariana thought back to what Jesus had just said to her: 'You're in charge right now, got it?' Mariana looked down at the papers and signed her name. She walked them back over to Dr. West, but before she handed them over she said, "You can do the surgery, but under one condition: my sister doesn't die. You make sure she survives this. Do everything you have to do, just keep her alive, okay?"

"I will. I really need to go now. Can I have the papers?"

Mariana nodded and Dr. West took off in the opposite direction.

"Mariana! Where are you!" Stef was yelling and searching through the dark for her daughter.

"I'm right here!" Mariana jumped forward and landed in Stef's arms. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry mom!" She began to cry into her mother's coat.

"It's okay baby. It's not your fault!" Stef felt like she had bee saying that a lot lately. "Why don't you go sit with mama. I need to talk to a nurse or doctor, okay?" Mariana nodded and ran to Lena who was sitting in a chair a couple feet away. Stef watched and waited until her daughter was with her wife and then went to the nurses station. "Can someone please give me some information on my children?"

"Yes, what are their names?" A young peppy nurse popped up from behind the counter.

"Brandon Foster, Jesus and Jude Adams-Foster, and Callie Jacob."

The nurse typed the names into a computer. "Okay, well it looks like Brandon is over in bay 5, right over their." She pointed to the opposite side of the room. "Jesus is upstairs in CT and Jude is... oh little Jude is in trauma room three." Again the nurse pointed across the room. "And Callie is... Callie's in operation room two."

"Operating room? What! What in the hell?! She just got out of surgery yesterday!" Stef was livid.

"I'm sorry mom. I told Dr. West they could operate. She said Callie really needed it and we couldn't find you or mama so I said yes. I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me! I just did what I thought was best." Mariana had made her way to Stef's side and was looking down at her shoes as she talked, afraid her mother would be mad.

"No, it's okay love! You had to make a difficult decision. I'm very proud of you. Go back to mama. I'm going to check on your brothers." Stef turned and walked towards Brandon's bed. It was difficult making her way through the dark, but she eventually found her son. "Oh Brandon! What did he do to you!" Stef sat next to Brandon and gently examined his face.

"I'm okay mom, really." He laughed a little but stopped because of the pain. "I got the best of it. Go be with Jude. He needs you more than me right now."

His mom smiled and kissed him on top of his head. "I'll have mama come sit with you." She pulled out her phone and shot her wife a text.

Will you come sit with B? I'm going 2 go check on Jude.

Stef waited for Lena's reply and smiled when she received it.

OMW. Luv u.

Again, Stef maneuvered her way through the dark to find her son alone and unconscious in a dark room. When she saw the deep cut on his head she broke down. "Oh my sweet Jude. I'm so sorry this happened to you!"

"I'm okay mom. Really." Jude weakly answered his mother, seconds after regaining consciousness.

"Hey sweetie! How's your head feelin'?" Stef smiled.

"Well, it really hurts! But, I really am okay. Just tired. Where is everyone? Are they okay?"

"Well everyone except Mariana got banged up a little bit. But yeah, they're going to be okay." She was interrupted by someone calling her name.

"Mrs. Adams-Foster? Your son Jesus is out of CT. Would you prefer if we put him in here with his brother for now? We are getting a room ready for them right now." A young man stood in the doorway with Jesus on a bed behind him.

"Yes! Please bring him in." The man wheeled Jesus in and Stef gasped when she could finally see how beaten up he was.

"He has a couple cracked ribs and some lacerations on his face, but he should be healed up in a couple weeks. Good news is there is no internal bleeding!" With that, he turned and quickly walked out of the trauma room.

"Hey buddy. I heard you kicked some butt today!" Stef smiled at her son and gently ran her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I know how much you hate fighting and violence, but I just couldn't help it! He was hurting Callie and Jude. I couldn't just stand by and watch it happen." Jesus was quickly putting a defense.

"You're right! I don't like fighting and violence, especially after what just happened with Callie. But I am very proud of you for defending your family. You did good son." She smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Room for three more?" Lena was standing at the doorway with Mariana and Brandon in a wheelchair.

"Jude! You're awake!" Mariana ran to her brother and squeezed him tightly.

"Yeah I'm okay! And, Mariana? It's okay. I forgive you." Jude smiled. He had been awake a little when Mariana had apologized to him earlier.

The six were all talking about the day's events when a nurse came into the room with two orderlies.

"We have another room set up for you right upstairs. We would like to admit Jesus and Jude for the night for some observation. Brandon is okay to go home whenever." The smiled and, along with the two orderlies, began to take the family upstairs.

Once they arrived in the boy's room and they were all settled in, all of the kids fell asleep.

"This day just keeps getting crazier and crazier." Stef fell into Lena, completely exhausted.

"Try and get some sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens, okay?" Lena gently rubbed Stef's back and led her to the couch. As soon as Stef laid down, she too was asleep.

Lena sat up for a couple hours, thankful her family was going to be okay. She was just starting to drift off when Callie's doctor came into the room.

"Mrs. Adams-Foster?"

"Yes! I'm right here. Stef, wake up!" Lena shook Stef awake.

"Callie is out of surgery. What would you like first, the good news or the bad news?"


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I'm having terrible writer's block, so the chapters will probably be a little bit more spaced out than usual. If you have any suggestions PLEASE let me know in the reviews! I really love reading what you have to say!**

 **I don't know if I have said this or not but I don't own anything from The Foster's!**

 **Chapter 13**

"Callie is out of surgery. What would you like first, the good news or the bad news?"

With those words, Stef's heart dropped to the floor. "Bad news? Um, there's bad news... about Callie?" She was barely able to get the words out of her mouth.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Dr. West waited to go on until Lena gave her a look that said it was okay. "Callie lost a lot of blood during surgery. We were able to transfuse what we had, but she is going to need more. Also, part of her right lung was severely damaged. We had to take a small portion out. She is going to be fine, but she will most likely have some breathing issues for quite awhile."

Lena nodded, taking in what the doctor was saying. "Okay, we can handle that. Do we need to donate blood for her?"

"That would be wonderful. Do either of you know Callie's blood type? And your own as well."

"Yeah, she's A negative. I'm O negative and Lena is AB positive." Stef answered as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Okay, this is wonderful! Stef, you are a universal donor so, if you are okay with it, we would like to get you set up right away."

Stef nodded. "Of course. Wait, what about the good news?"

"Oh, of course. Callie's brain bleed has completely cleared up. She will need to stay in the ICU tonight because of this last surgery, but we will move her to pediatrics tomorrow. And then in a couple days, she will be able to come home!"

"That is wonderful news, thank you so much Dr. West! Stef, go with her and do the donation. I'll stay here with the kids." Lena gave Stef a quick peck on the cheek before she left.

As Stef and Dr. West left the room, the power came back on.

"Ugh, mama! Why did you turn the lights on?" Mariana groaned as she got up from the chair she was sleeping in.

"Hey, don't blame me! I didn't do anything. Maybe the storm is starting to die down." Lena crossed the room and pulled back the curtains. She was met with torrential rain and lightning flashes. "Or maybe not."

Mariana walked over to Lena and wrapped her arms around her mama's waist. "Where did mom go? Is Callie out of surgery yet?"

"Yes, Callie is out. But she lost a lot of blood so mom went to go donate some. She'll be back soon."

Brandon woke up from the talking and joined his mom and sister. "I could drive Mariana and myself back to the hotel so it's a little less crowded here tonight."

Lena laughed, "Absolutely not. It is storming like crazy out there and the last thing we need is your car blowing off of the road. No, we'll get some cots set up in here for the two of you."

"Can I sleep in Callie's room? The boys like... fart in their sleep. It's disgusting." Mariana said as she looked up at Lena with puppy dog eyes.

"Hey! I do not... fart in my sleep!" Brandon's face reddened as he tried to defend himself.

Mariana rolled her eyes and turned back to Lena. "Please mama? Pleeeaaasssee?"

"I'm sorry Miss Thing. Only one person is allowed in Callie's room at night. Mom is going to stay in there tonight. But, you can hang out with her until it's time for you to leave."

"Yay!" Mariana clapped her hands and darted out of the room. She ran down the hall to Callie's room but was shocked to see it blocked off with crime scene tape. Mariana looked around and saw that no one was watching and crossed the line into the room. "Oh my God!" was all she could get out as she looked at the sight before her. Splinters of wood from the door were everywhere, furniture was shoved around, and blood was all over the floor.

"Hey, you can't be in here. This is a crime scene." A nurse saw Mariana in there and escorted her out.

"Can you tell me where my sister is? Her name is Callie Jacob." Mariana had tears streaming down her face as she recalled what had happened earlier that day.

"She is now in room 603. It's straight down this hallway and then to the left."

Mariana thanked the nurse and walked towards Callie's room. As she got closer, she heard someone screaming in pain. She didn't start running until she realized it was Callie.

"Callie! What's wrong?" Mariana slid into her sister's room and rushed to her side.

"My side! It hurts and I can't breathe! Please, go get a nurse or a doctor. Hurry!" Callie was breathing very heavily but her breaths were also very short.

Mariana nodded and darted into the hallway. "Someone help! My sister can't breathe, something's wrong!" She returned to Callie seconds later with a doctor.

"Callie, my name is Dr. Arnold. I was assisting Dr. West with your surgeries. I need you to calm down for me, okay?" The thirty-something doctor adjusted the medication level on Callie's IV pump to give her a stronger dosage. "How does that feel?"

Callie started to breathe easier and the intense pain in her side dulled to a mild throb. "Better. What happened?"

"Well, your incision was reopened and part of your lung was so damaged that we had to remove it. That's why you are so short of breath. But, you should be breathing almost 100% better in a few months. I have to go check on some other patients, but have a nurse page me or Dr. West if you need anything, okay?"

Callie smiled and nodded as the attractive doctor made his exit. "Where is everyone?"

Mariana was nervous to answer, she really didn't want to upset her sister anymore. "Well, uhh.. Everyone kinda got hurt during the struggle." She saw the fear and guilt creep over Callie's face and quickly tried to fix it. "Not bad though! Jesus and Jude were admitted for the night and Brandon just had his nose broken or something."

"Robert put Jude in the hospital?!" Callie started to breathe heavily again.

"Hey hey hey! He's okay, really. He has a cut on his head and they just wanted to observe him over night. You know, he went down defending you." Mariana smiled at her sister.

"Well he's gonna get it from me tomorrow!" Callie's breathing had evened out.

Mariana and Callie's attention was directed to the doorway where they saw Lena and Stef. Lena began to cry as they made their way to her bed. "Oh Callie, I'm so sorry!" Lena said and took Callie's hand in her own as she sat down.

"I'll go hang out with the boys for awhile. But, I'll probably come back later... if that's okay?" Mariana silently pleaded with her eyes.

Callie smiled and nodded. But, her smile quickly faded when she saw a bandage on Stef's arm. "No! What did he do to you? I'm so sorry. If I would have just said no-"

"Hey, love, I'm okay! Really! Dr. West told us that you lost a lot of blood so I went to go donate some for you. Robert didn't hurt us. Well, physically at least." Stef smiled and brushed some tears from her daughter's face.

"We want you to know that we are going to do everything we can to put Robert and Jill behind bars, okay?" Lena squeezed Callie's hand gently.

Callie looked back and forth between Stef and Lena nervously. "Will I have to testify?" She asked cautiously.

"I'm afraid so, but it is going to help with their convictions. Everything is going to be okay." Stef reassured her daughter.

"No, it's not that. It's just... the last time I had to testify was with the whole Liam thing. And that didn't go my way, so why would this? And plus, what would happen to Sophia? She needs her parents. She doesn't have anyone else."

"Your testimony was not the reason Liam didn't go to prison. There wasn't any evidence and your lawyer kind of screwed everything up. That was not your fault. Do you hear me, love?" Callie nodded and Stef continued. "Honey, if you don't testify... it will be very hard to get him on the kidnapping charges. He will say you wanted to go with him. If he isn't convicted of that he will only get up to ten years in prison. We will prepare you and it is still quite a ways off so you don't need to worry right now. And Sophia... well I'm sure they have some family friends she can go live with or maybe a long lost aunt. She will be fine."

"Okay, whatever. I just... never mind." Callie turned and faced away from her moms.

"What is it Callie? Talk to us, please." Lena pleaded.

"I said never mind!" Callie snapped and whipped her head around. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, Lena. I'm really tired."

"Okay, well I'll be back in just a little bit." Stef said and kissed Callie's forehead. She led Lena into the hallway and shut Callie's door behind her.

"She just called me Lena again. I thought we were done with that! She has been calling us Mom and Mama for days now!" Lena started to cry and buried her head in Stef's shoulder.

"She's just upset. She'll be back to her normal self tomorrow, okay?" Stef pulled Lena's face away and kissed her gently. "You should go back and check on the kids. I'm going to go in and camp out with her for the rest of the night. Tell my babies I love them!" She watched as Lena walked away, wishing she could take away her wife's pain.

 **What do you think should happen with Jill and Robert? What about Sophia?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **So I feel like I'm really dragging this out, so I'm going to speed it up a bit. Also, what would you guys think about a Jonner chapter? Maybe once they all get home Conner will find out everything that happened and be there to support Jude. I love their relationship so I thought I might do a little fluff chapter for them. Let me know what you think!**

A day and a half later Callie had been moved out of the ICU and into pediatrics. Jesus and Jude were released from the hospital and the storm had finally died down.

All of the kids were in Callie's room talking while Stef and Lena were in the hallway arguing.

"I'm just saying that something is different with her, Lena! Ever since they moved her out of the ICU she has just been... distant. She hardly talks to us and when she does, she is short and rude. Also, she is calling us by our first names again! I just think we need to talk to her about it." Stef was starting to get very frustrated with Lena.

"I hear what you're saying, but I can see where Callie is coming from! She just had something very traumatic happen to her. I think she just needs some space to cool off." Lena gave Stef a look that said let it go, now.

"Oh don't look at me like that! And you know what Callie does when we give her space! She runs! I'm not letting that happen again. I'm going to talk to her with or without you, it's really your choice. I'll be gentle, don't worry. I won't try and push her, I just want her to know that we are here if she wants to talk." Stef pleaded with Lena silently, begging her to see it her way. But Lena held her ground.

"Well, I'm going to pass. Callie is going to need someone to talk to when she gets upset with you for pushing her into talking when she clearly doesn't want too."

Stef was to stunned and angry to continue the argument, so she just scoffed and turned to go into Callie's room. "Hey babies, I need to talk to Callie for a minute. Would you mind waiting in the hall with mama for a bit?" The kids nodded and filed out one by one.

"What's going on?" Callie sat up a little in her bed as she answered.

"I just want to check in and see how you're doing." Stef took a seat on Callie's bed and took her daughter's hand in her own.

Callie immediately retracted her hand and scooted away from Stef. "I'm fine."

"No Callie, you aren't. You've barely said two words to me or mama in the last few days. You're withdrawn, you hardly touch your food... I know what you went through was very traumatizing and I get that you're scared-"

"I'm not scared!" Callie caught herself before she got too snippy. "I'm just... pissed." She rapidly blinked away tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

Stef eyed Callie, trying to warn her about her swearing but decided to let it slide. "Tell me what you're angry about, love. Please?"

Callie took in several deep breaths as she prepared herself for what she was about to say. She reached for Stef's hand and decided it was time to talk. "I'm mad about so many things. I'm mad that I agreed to meet Sophia, because maybe if I didn't none of this would have happened. I'm mad that Robert turned out to be an abusive creep. I'm mad that I wanted him to love me. I'm mad that he hurt our family and put Jude and Jesus in the hospital with me. And I'm super pissed that I was put in the stupid pediatric wing! I hate these bunnies and rainbows and princesses on the walls! I just want to go home!" Callie was freely crying now. Stef's heart was breaking for her daughter. She climbed up next to Callie and held her in her arms.

"I want you to listen to me, love, okay? Meeting Sophia didn't make Robert do this to you. There is something seriously wrong with him. Nothing you or anyone else did made him do this. Next, there is nothing wrong with wanting him to love you. He's your biological father! I totally understand wanting to have a connection with the man who made you. Now, as for the pediatric wing... I agree. I think it was stupid of them to put you in here. The bunnies are a little creepy don't you think?" Stef laughed and she even got a little giggle from Callie. "Well, the good news is you only have to spend one more night in here and then we get to take you home tomorrow. Do you think you can make it just one more night?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Stef? Thanks for this. I'm sorry I've been so rude to you and Lena lately. I just had everything built up and I didn't know who to go too." Callie looked up at Stef and then away quickly. She felt her face turning bright red as she spoke.

"Mama and I will always be here for you. You can come to us day or night." Stef hesitated, not sure if she should ask what she wanted to ask. "Callie, I have a question for you. It's okay if you don't want to answer, I just think I need to say this."

"What is it?" Callie looked back at Stef, dreading what was coming next.

"When all of this went down... you were calling Lena and I mom and mama. And then a couple days ago, you stopped. Can I know why you stopped?" Stef felt Callie tense in her arms. She squeezed her gently and kissed the top of her head to let her know she wasn't mad.

"I don't know... I guess I just thought since I wasn't legally your daughter yet, I should stop. I didn't want you to think I was getting too attached in case you changed your mind..." Callie quickly brushed the tears from her eyes hoping Stef wouldn't notice.

"Oh my sweet, sweet girl. You never have to worry about us changing our minds about you. You're kind of stuck with us, kiddo! We love you so so much. Do you hear me?" Stef peppered Callie with kisses until she started to laugh.

"I do hear you. I love you... mom." Callie blushed again.

"I love you too. Hey, will you do me a favor? When mama comes in, will you tell her I was right?" Stef was giddy that she had been right about talking to Callie, and a little part of her wanted to rub it in.

"Umm, sure? But right about what?" Callie was genuinely confused.

"Oh nothing. Just a little debate." Stef smiled and pulled Callie close.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

"Is it safe to come in?" Lena poked her head in and smiled at the sight of her wife and daughter.

"Yes, come in everyone!" Stef re-positioned herself and Callie so they could better see everyone.

Everyone came in and took a seat. "Oh it is so nice to have all of my babies in one room. And conscious too!" Lena joked and everyone giggled.

"Hey mama?" Callie asked Lena.

Lena smiled. She was so happy to here Callie call her 'mama' again. "Yeah baby?"

"Umm, I just wanted to let you know that mom was right." Callie looked to Stef and was met with a reassuring squeeze.

"Oh was she now?" Lena smiled at Stef. "Well, that doesn't surprise me!"

"Wow! We sure do have a full room today! Hello to all of the Adams-Fosters!" Dr. West said as she entered the room. "Well, I have some very good news for you all! Since Callie hasn't had any severe breathing trouble in the last twenty-four hours, she can go home... today!"

"Wait, are you serious!?" Stef all but jumped out of Callie's bed in excitement. "This is wonderful news! Thank you so much, Dr. West!" Stef made her way across the room and gave the doctor a big hug.

"Well, it was my pleasure. But I do have a few rules. Callie is not allowed to go to school for three weeks. She can go out places, but as long as she isn't doing too much walking and if someone is with her. She needs to do the prescribed breathing treatment three times a day for two weeks. Also, in three days take her to your physician and have her stitches removed. I've prescribed some antibiotics and some pain relievers. I'm also sending you home with an oxygen tank and a mask. Use it just in case she gets too exhausted." Dr. West handed Stef the prescriptions and discharge papers. "Fill these out and when you're done you can hand them to one of the nurses at the nurses station. Someone will come in and take you all down to your car. Callie, I hope I never have to see you in here again under these circumstances! And for the record... I hope you put that bastard behind bars for a very long time!" Dr. West said, gaining a laugh from everyone and left the moms to fill out the paperwork.

An hour later the paperwork was done and the kids were waiting for the moms to pull the cars around.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you all got drug into this. I feel really horrible that you all got hurt in one way or another." Callie looked to all of her siblings, but stopped on Jesus. "And, thanks for going all Iron Man on Robert. I hear it was quite the show!"

"It's what family does. I would do it again in a heartbeat." Jesus smiled at Callie.

"Moms are back." Jude pointed out. "I want to ride with Callie!"

"Yeah me too!" Mariana piped up.

"Me three!" Jesus said as he started pushing Callie's wheelchair to the family SUV.

"What am I, chopped liver? No one wants to ride with me?" Brandon asked slightly offended.

"Jesus slow down! You're going to dump her right out of that chair if you aren't careful!" Lena scolded.

Stef watched as four of her children tried to squeeze in the SUV. "Hey, someone is going to have to ride with B! Only three of you can fit in this car with me and mama." Stef waited for one of the kids to go to the Volvo, but no one made a move. "Seriously? Fine I'll choose. Hmmm... Jesus! You, my friend, are the lucky winner!"

"Ugh! Why do I have too?!" Jesus complained.

"Wow, I'm really feeling the love dude." Brandon smirked from his car.

"Come on everybody! Let's get this show on the road! Hustle, hustle, hustle!" Stef started ushering everyone into their respective cars. Once everyone was settled, they took off for home. A few hours into the trip, she looked in the rearview mirror and saw Mariana and Jude sleeping with their heads on Callie's shoulders, who was also asleep. She smiled at the sight, thankful all of her children were safe now.


	15. Chapter 15

This isn't a new chapter, sorry if that's what you thought it was. But, I really hope you continue to read this, because I feel like I need to do some explaining. I got a review last night from someone who I am choosing to keep anonymous. This review was very good and I enjoyed it very much... well, for the most part. At the end, the reviewer said something that really shocked me. They said "...what happened [to Callie] was 70 percent her [Sophia] parent's fault, 20 percent her fault, 5 percent Callie's fault, and 5 percent Lena's fault." I want **_every single person_** reading this to know something: if you are ever in a situation where you are being attacked, whether it be physically, emotionally, or sexually, _it is not your fault_. No matter what anyone says, you did nothing to bring it upon yourself. It doesn't matter if you were walking alone by yourself at night, or flirting at the bar, or wanting to go see your sister who you thought was suicidal with your dad who just came into your life (who turned out to be an abusive freak). No one deserves to be beaten senseless, or raped, or emotionally pummeled. And to the person who wrote that review: I understand where you are coming from. It's understandable to want to give a reason for the attack. I just want you to know that the attack is _never_ the victim's fault. So if any of you find yourself if a horrible situation like I am writing about, please do not blame yourself. **You did nothing wrong.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **I'm so sorry for the long wait! Please leave me some reviews!**

"Easy Callie. You're going to be okay, you just worked yourself a little to hard." Stef held the oxygen mask to Callie's face and gently stroked her hair.

"I don't want this! Get away from me!" Callie pushed Stef away and tried to leave her room. She was still very weak and couldn't move very fast. Stef was up in an instant and stopped her daughter before she could leave.

"Listen, I know you're upset. This is frustrating as hell, but you need to go sit down and put that mask back on. It's going to help you breathe better." Stef tried to lead Callie back to the bed, but Callie dug her feet in to the floor. "If you don't start walking in three seconds I'm going to pick you up and carry you. One... two..." Stef gave Callie a look that said 'try me'. "Three!" Stef swooped Callie into her arms and carried her to her and Lena's room.

"What are you doing! Put me down! I want to go back to my room." Callie struggled as much as her injured body would let her, but she was no match for Stef.

"Yeah well I didn't get what I wanted either. Lena, Callie is going to stay in here with us tonight. She isn't being very cooperative." She sat Callie down on the bed next to Lena and received a dirty glare from her daughter. "I'm going to go get her oxygen tank and pillow."

"What's going on Callie? Why are you not listening to mom and giving her dirty looks?" Lena questioned. She'd heard her wife and daughter arguing, but decided not to intervene.

"I walked up the stairs when we got home and I got a little tired. Mom freaked out and shoved that freaking mask on my face and started treating me like a baby!" Callie crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

"It's your first night home. We're just scared that you're going to get hurt."

"I already hurt..."

Those words pierced Lena's heart like a knife. Ever since they'd gotten home from the hospital earlier that day, Callie had been moody and withdrawn. Everyone just figured she was tired. Lena was struggling to find the right words to say to Callie but luckily Stef came in and broke the awkward silence.

"Okay, I know you don't want to do this but you are going to. It will not be in your favor if you try and fight me on this." Stef outstretched her hand with the mask in it. Callie looked up at Stef and knew she meant business. She also knew she was no match for her mom, even when she was in perfect health.

"Fine." Callie snapped. She snatched the mask out of Stef's hand and held it to her face. She didn't want to admit it, but she was glad she had it. Her breathing got significantly better within seconds.

"I'm going to check on everyone before we go to bed." Lena squeezed Stef's hand reassuringly and left. She looked in on the boys and saw that they were already passed out, so she made her way to Mariana's room. "Hey Miss Thing. How are you doing?" Lena sat down on her daughter's bed and wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm okay I guess. Are mom and Callie okay? I could hear them yelling while I was in the bathroom."

"Yes, Callie is just a little frustrated right now and she's taking it out on mom. Sweetie, you don't look like you're okay. What's going on?"

Mariana sighed. "I'm scared. I know Robert is in jail and he didn't even hurt me... but I'm scared he's going to come back. They all know where we live."

"First of all, you shouldn't feel guilty about being scared. He may not have physically hurt you, but he did emotionally. We all went through something very traumatic. It's going to take some time for us to heal." Lena kissed Mariana's forehead. "Would it make you feel safer if I slept in here with you? Callie is sleeping in our room tonight."

"Would you? I mean, do you mind?" Mariana looked up shyly at her mama.

"I don't mind one bit. I'm going to go get my pillow." Back in her room she saw Callie snuggled up to Stef. "Well, this is a big change from when I left you." She went to the opposite side of the bed and saw that Callie was sleeping.

"She is completely exhausted... physically, mentally, and emotionally." Stef stroked Callie's hair and gently removed the oxygen mask from her face.

"Mariana is a little scared so I'm going to spend the night in their room with her. I'll see you in the morning." She gave Stef a kiss and turned to go back to Mariana. "Stef, I love you."

"I love you too, babe." Stef smiled as she watched her wife leave. Callie started groaning and stirring in her arms. "Easy love. You're okay."

Callie's eyes shot open and she jumped from the bed. Her body was too weak to support such a drastic move and she collapsed to the floor.

"Callie!" Stef ran to Callie's side and tried to help her off of the floor.

"No! Robert, get off of me! Please, don't hurt me anymore!" Tears were pouring out of Callie's eyes and she shielded her body with her hands.

"Stef? What's going on?" Lena had heard the ruckus from Mariana and Callie's room and darted into to see what happened.

"I don't know! She was asleep and then all of the sudden she was on the floor. She must be sleeping still. She was begging Robert not to hurt her." Stef's eyes welled with tears when she spoke.

"We have to wake her up. Her breathing can't get to labored."

Stef nodded and pulled Callie into her lap. "Shh, you're alright Callie. You're safe. Robert can't get to you here. Please wake up for mommy." Stef rocked her daughter and held her tight until she woke up.

"Mama?" Callie's eyes overflowed with tears and she reached for Lena.

"I'm right here baby. You're okay." Lena accepted Callie into her arms and rocked her gently.

Stef scooted closer and rubbed her back soothingly. "Were you having a nightmare love?"

Callie nodded and pulled herself off Lena's lap. "I was dreaming that I was back in the house. Jill and Sophia were standing in the corner holding Jude back. He was hurting me. I tried to yell for you and mama but I couldn't."

"Well, you're safe now. Do you want to get back in bed with mom?"

Callie nodded to Lena and tried to get up, but failed. Stef and Lena smiled sadly at one another and helped their daughter stand.

"I love you." Lena kissed Stef. "And I love you, too." She gave Callie a kiss on the cheek and walked back to Mariana's room.

Several hours later Callie had finally fallen asleep and Stef was just starting to doze off.

"Mom! Help me! Please don't let him take me!" Callie started thrashing around on the bed. Her screams woke Lena.

"Again?!" Lena sat down on the bed and tried to control Callie's night terror.

"This is going to be a long healing process." Stef locked eyes with Lena a gave her a weak smile.

SOS! I am in some serious need of some good ideas! I am really struggling to write this story and I want your input. If I am unable to come up with some solid ideas then I am not going to continue the story. I really don't want to do that so please help! Much love -SDD


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 **Thank you for all of the great ideas! I think I have some great stuff to work on now. I just moved into college (go Illini!) so updates won't be every day. I'm going to alternate days on updating my stories. Also, I posted a poem titled** ** _Everything Is Fine_** **. Go check it out! I couldn't figure out how to label it as poetry so it's under misc. books.**

Callie got up early the next morning and snuck into her room to get changed. Mariana and Lena were still sleeping so she moved as quietly as possible. She changed into shorts and a cute top and slipped on some sandals. Once she was downstairs, she slowly pulled open the front door and slipped into the cool morning. Callie didn't really know where she was going but she did know that she just needed at day to herself.

 _Moms are going to be pissed_ she thought to herself. Although she didn't really care. She was tired of feeling trapped in that house. And not only trapped inside, but also inside her body. The fresh air felt wonderful on her lungs and she could breathe so much easier. But after a while, the walking to a toll on her lungs. They started to burn ferociously and she had to sit and rest.

Back at home…

Stef woke up and reached over for Callie but her hand fell to the mattress.

"Callie?" She jumped off the bed and searched the bathroom. Not finding her, Stef ran to her daughters' room and found her wife and youngest daughter. "Lena, wake up!"

"What's going on Stef?" Lena sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"Callie isn't in our room. I can't find her."

"Did you check downstairs?" Lena questioned. She got off Callie's bed and went over to Mariana. She gave her daughter a quick kiss on the side of her head and led Stef out of the room.

"No I didn't but I just have a bad feeling."

"I'm sure she's just getting some breakfast or watching tv."

Stef and Lena searched the downstairs and out in the garage where the kids hang out. When they couldn't find her, Stef began to panic.

"She's gone. She ran again!" Stef paced around the kitchen. "I'm going to go look for her." She grabbed the keys off of the counter and went out to her car.

"Keep me updated." Lena gave Stef a kiss and watched her pull out of the driveway.

Stef drove all over town to every place she could think where Callie could be: her work, Rita's house, Girls United, but Callie was nowhere. After nearly an hour of searching she pulled off to the side of the rode and called Lena.

"Stef? Did you find her?" Lena's voice was filled with panic. Stef could hear her other children in the background.

"No, I've looked everywhere." Stef wiped a stray tear away. "What are we going to tell the kids if we can't find her?"

"It's still really early Stef. We'll find her."

"What if she took off in the middle of the night? She could be anywhere by now…" Stef looked up and nearly dropped the phone. Callie was walking right towards the car. She was looking down at her feet and must not have seen Stef's car. "I see her! I have to go." Stef threw her phone in the seat and got out of the car, slamming the door. "Callie Quinn Jacob! Get your ass over here right now!"

Callie's head shot up and she stopped dead in her tracks. _How the hell did she find me?!_ She couldn't decide what to do. Run? No, she was too weak. Wait for Stef to come to her? No, that would only piss Stef off even more. She decided to walk towards her mom. She kept her head down and stopped right in front of the SUV.

"What the hell?! I was worried _sick_ about you! You aren't allowed to just run whenever you feel out of control. Do you understand me?" Stef was furious but she pulled Callie into a tight hug.

"I just needed some time to myself. Sorry…" She reciprocated the hug and sank into Stef.

"Let's go home. You look exhausted." Stef led Callie to the car and helped her inside and buckled her in.

By the time the pair arrived home, Callie was asleep. Stef carried her back up to the bedroom and laid her in the middle of the bed and tucked her in.

"Where was she?" Lena came in and sat on the bed with Stef.

"Just walking down the street by the park. She looked _terrified_ when she saw me." Stef ran her fingers through Callie's hair and laid down next to her. "Are you taking the kids to school or are they walking?"

"I'm going to drive them. We're getting ready to leave. I just wanted to come up and say goodbye to two of my favorite girls." Lena smiled and kissed Stef and then Callie. "I'll talk to you later."

Stef smiled as Lena left and soon fell asleep next to Callie. She woke several hours later and again found the bed empty next to her. She started panic but found a note sticking out from under the pillow.

 _Don't worry. I didn't run again. I'm downstairs._

Stef sighed in relief and made her way downstairs. She found Callie sitting at the kitchen table with the oxygen mask on.

"Callie, what happened? Are you alright?" She ran to Callie's side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fine. I brought the tank down in case I needed it. I started to make breakfast and I think all of the standing combined with lugging the tank down really wore me out. But I'm starting to feel better. I think the eggs might be ruined." Callie tried to get up and finish breakfast but Stef made her sit.

"No, you stay here. I'll make you something to eat. Do you want eggs or something else?"

"I used the last of the eggs. I'm really sorry." Callie's eyes started to well up with tears.

"Why are you sorry, love? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I wasted the eggs." She wiped her tears away and rested her head on the table.

"Are you upset about the eggs or something else?"

Callie shook her head. "I'm sorry that I scared you. I just wanted a day to myself. I was so tired of feeling trapped. It was driving me crazy!"

"Well if you need a day out of the house I'm sure we can arrange that. Maybe you could go hang out with Daphne or spend the day at Girls United with Rita. Would you like that?" Stef poured two bowls of cereal and placed on in front of Callie and dug into the other.

Callie nodded and smiled. She took of the oxygen mask and took a bite of cereal. "That would be great. But I don't want to go today. I'm too tired. Can I just spend the day with you?"

Stef couldn't help the smile that took over her face. "I thought you'd never ask!" The phone rang. "I'll be right back. Eat up!"

Stef took the phone to the back yard and sat at the picnic table. "Hello?"

"Hey Stef, its Melanie."

Stef was glad/nervous to hear from their lawyer so soon. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. I have some good news. The adoption hearing has been rescheduled for next Wednesday! The judge heard what happened and wanted to get Callie in as soon as possible!"

"Melanie, this is great news! Thank you so much!" Stef was jumping with joy. "Callie will be so happy to hear this!"

"It's my pleasure. But, I have some not-so-good news. Robert and Jill have opted out of a jury trial. They're leaving it up to the judge. And Callie needs to testify."

"Okay… when?" Stef's heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to beat out of her chest.

"There was an opening for a bench trial since they don't take as long. His trial is starting on Friday."

Stef gasped. "That's so soon! She will need to be in to go over her testimony…"

Melanie cut her off. "Tomorrow. There are only four days until the trial starts so we need to get her in to talk with the prosecution attorney as soon as possible."

"Okay, well thank you for letting me know. I need to go talk to Callie."

Stef hung up the phone and went to go tackle the task of burdening Callie with the thought of facing her abuser in court.

 **Thank you to the guest who gave me the idea to have Callie have a day to herself! I'm sure I didn't spin it in the way you would have liked, but this is what came to mind. I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 **I had someone ask what a bench trial is. A bench trial is a trial with no jury. The judge listens to the testimony and reviews the evidence and serves the verdict. There are pros and cons to a bench trial, but I'm not sure what they are. I hope that clears things up! I hope you enjoy this chapter! –SDD**

"And what if I refuse to testify?" Callie was pacing around the kitchen, almost in tears from Stef's news.

"You will be arrested and held in contempt of court." Stef didn't sugarcoat it. Callie _had_ to testify to put Robert and Jill away.

"Are you freaking kidding me?! _I_ will be arrested because I don't want to face my abuser in court? That's shi- crap."

"Watch yourself. I'm sorry love. Your testimony is going to put them behind bars. Your siblings are going to have to testify too."

"I can't believe this." Callie sat down at the table and put the oxygen mask up to her face. She let the tears fall freely, not caring if Stef saw her cry.

"Let's get you upstairs to take a nap. I'm sure you're completely wiped."

Callie nodded and let Stef lead her upstairs and tuck her into her own bed. She was glad Stef didn't make her go to her and Lena's room. She was craving to snuggle up under her own covers.

Stef went back downstairs to finish up some housework. She called Lena at work and explained the situation. Lena told her to tell the kids without her because she had a late meeting. Time seemed to fly by, because before she knew it the rest of her family was home.

"Hey mom!" Jude greeted Stef at the back door with a hug as everyone else went directly up to their rooms.

"Hello my baby!" Jude gave her an annoyed look. "Oh don't look at me like that. You're my baby whether you like it or not! How was school?"

"It was fine. Boring actually. Is it okay if Connor stays the night on Friday?"

Stef tensed. "Actually, I need to talk to you and your siblings. Why don't you go get them and come down to the living room?"

Jude took off up the stairs and returned quickly with Jesus, Brandon, and Mariana.

"Sit down. I need to talk to you all."

Brandon could sense the worry on her face. "Is everything okay? Did something happen to Callie?"

"No, she's okay. This is about all of you. I got an email from the lawyer today and she said that all of you are going to testify at Robert and Jill's trial."

"When is it?" Jesus leaned forward and grabbed Mariana's hand, who was visibly upset.

"Friday. They are having a bench trial, that's a trial without a jury, and the judge had an opening for Friday. All of the evidence is in place so they were ready to proceed."

"I thought trials normally took weeks." Brandon was pacing around the room.

"Not bench trials. And this is a little different because it didn't take long to find Callie and we knew immediately who to perpetrator was. Also, not many people were involved so there won't be a bunch of testimonies. You will all have the rest of the week off to go over your testimony with the prosecution attorney."

Jesus smiled at that thought.

"Hey, this isn't going to be a vacation buddy. It's going to be difficult to repeat over and over what happened to you." Stef looked to her children. Their faces were drawn, full of sadness and anger. "Why don't you head up and do your homework. I'm going to start dinner. Oh, and try to be quiet upstairs. Callie is probably sleeping."

The kids nodded and silently made their way to their respective rooms. When Mariana got to her bedroom, she found Callie resting on her bed. She went and sat by her sister. She laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I wish I could make it all better."

"I'm sorry he hurt you." Callie replied. Mariana nearly jumped across the room.

"I thought you were asleep! You scared the crap out of me!" Mariana went to her bed and pulled out her homework.

"Sorry." Callie sat up and rubbed her back. She winced when she hit a bruise.

"Are you okay?" The pain on her sister's face didn't go unnoticed.

Callie wanted to say yes, she was alright. But she was so tired of hiding everything. "No. Everything hurts. I have bruises everywhere." She broke down and cried into her pillow.

Mariana was shocked. She'd never seen Callie so upset. She ran out of the room and into her moms room. After she got what she needed, she made her way back to Callie and found her sister in the exact same position.

"Here, put this on your back. It should help." She handed Callie a hot-water bottle and a heating pad. "It's what Jesus used to give me when I had bruises."

Callie looked up and took the items from her younger sister. "You've never talked about your other foster homes." She wiped tears from her face as she spoke.

"What happened to Jesus and me is nothing compared to what happened to Jude or you… you know, with Liam and everything."

"Mariana, never think your suffering isn't enough to receive help or someone to talk to. You probably went through something bad at one point. I mean, I know of one."

Mariana looked at Callie confused.

"Your birth mother left you and your brother alone on _Christmas._ That had to have been horrifying."

"Yeah, it did suck." Mariana laughed a little. "Can we talk for a little bit? I've never opened up to anyone about this stuff. Not even moms."

"Of course. I would love to talk about something else besides how I'm feeling or the stupid trial." Callie patted the bed next to her, welcoming Mariana.

"It wasn't all bad. The first house wasn't that bad. We only stayed there for a week. But… most of the families were bad. Actually they were all really bad. Until this one."

"How many homes were you in?"

"Four. Well, I guess six. The first one we stayed in was only for a week and then this one would make six. But I really only count the four that we bounced around in. There was this one…" Mariana shuddered. Callie instinctively grabbed her hand for support. "The dad was a drunk and the mom, when she was there, didn't give a crap about anything. They started off really nice. The mom would cook us these really great meals and she would tuck us in every night after reading us a story. I thought we were in heaven. And the dad would play princesses with me and he taught Jesus how to play football. And then one night at dinner he had a beer… and another… and several more. Jesus and I were running around the house and we broke a vase. He got _pissed_. He grabbed Jesus and threw him against the wall. He was hitting him and I started wailing on the guy. Well, six year old me versus, well anything, isn't a good match. He picked me up and threw me across the room into the staircase. I broke two ribs. He started hitting us all the time after that. One night, he was beating me so bad Jesus had to call the police. I think they were arrested… I'm not really sure." Mariana wiped a tear away from her face. "The other three were basically the same. They would either beat us, not feed us, or not stop the other kids from beating on us. The last house dropped us off at the police station where mom works because I cried too much. They wouldn't feed us! I was starving and I knew Jesus was too. He would always give me some of his food… which wasn't a lot."

"I'm really sorry Mariana. That should never have happened to you. God! I freaking hate the system! I can't wait to be out of it for good." Callie pulled her sister into a hug and let the younger girl sob into her.

They sat there like that for quite a while and cried together. There was a knock at the door and they both jumped.

"Girls? I just wanted to check and see how you're doing." Stef walked in slowly and was shocked at the site before her. "What's the matter, loves? What happened?"

"Nothing. We were just talking." Mariana wiped her tears and ran to the bathroom.

Callie wiped tears away quickly and laid down with her back to Stef.

"Callie? What was that all about?"

"Nothing. Mariana told you exactly what happened. Not ever tear has to be processed incessantly."

Stef sighed. She hated seeing her girls in pain, but she decided to leave it alone. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. I hope the two of you will join us."

After Mariana heard the door shut she made her way back to her own bed.

"Mom said food is ready in ten minutes. I don't think I'm going down. Are you?"

Mariana shook her head. "I'm not hungry. And I have a bunch of homework to do."

Callie smiled at her sister and laid down to take a nap.

Back downstairs…

"Well, I guess the girls aren't going to join us, so dig in!" Stef encouraged the boys who happily obliged.

"Are they okay?" Lena whispered to Stef.

"I don't know. I walked in to their room and they were both sitting on Callie's bed, hugging with tears streaming down their faces. Mariana and Callie ensured me that they're fine. Actually Callie basically yelled at me for trying to process their feelings."

"Really? Teenage girls mad at their mother for prying at their feelings? You don't say!" Lena teased.

"Hey! You watch it missy!" Stef smiled as she sarcastically chastised her wife.

"Maybe we can talk to them after dinner."

"I think we should let them work this one out. If they want to come to us, they will. Well, at least Mariana will."

Lena silently agreed and filled her plate with the healthy dinner. Stef looked around to her family and couldn't help the sadness she felt for her two broken daughters upstairs. She vowed to herself that she would do everything in her power to take away their pain.

 **I think I will do a Jonnor chapter next. What do you think? Basically it will just be Jude telling Connor everything that happened and Connor comforting Jude.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 **So this is going to be the Jonnor chapter! I kind of got carried away and forgot to have it earlier, so here is a little info. Jude didn't tell Connor the truth of what happened. He told him that he and Jesus got in a fight and that's why he had the cut on his head. Connor hasn't been over since the attack, so he didn't get a chance to see all of the damage inflicted on everyone else. I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think in your reviews! –SDD**

"Mama, is it okay if I go to Connor's?" Jude had been dying to see his boyfriend. They'd only seen each other at school and Jude _really_ needed some Jonnor time.

"Sure baby, but you need to be home for dinner at 5:30. Do you want a ride?" Lena asked.

"No, I'm just going to ride my bike. Thanks though." Jude crossed over to the stove to where Lena was and gave her a hug. "Bye mama."

Lena kissed the top of Jude's head. "Bye Jude." She smiled as she watched her youngest walk out the back door. She was so proud of him for being true to who he was.

Ten minutes later Jude was pulling into Connor's driveway. He took off his helmet and parked his bike in the garage.

"Hey Jude!" Connor smiled at his boyfriend and him a quick kiss.

Jude smiled and took Connor's hand.

"So, what do you wanna do? We could go to the beach or play video games. Whatever you want to do is fine with me." Connor smiled even wider. "I'm just really glad that we _finally_ got to hang out. And, plus, my dad isn't home this week so we don't have to worry about anyone walking in on us."

"Wait, your dad is letting you stay home alone?" Jude was shocked. He knew that his moms would never in million years let him stay by himself for a week.

"Yeah! It's so awesome. He had to leave for work like last minute and couldn't find anyone to stay with me, so he basically just said if anything is broken I'm dead."

"Lucky…" Jude thought for a minute. "Let's play video games. It's pretty hot outside today. I would rather stay inside."

"Sweet." Connor led Jude inside and set up the Xbox. Jude got them sodas and some chips and then took a seat next to his boyfriend on the couch.

They played for about an hour and Connor was absolutely destroying Jude. After Connor beat Jude for about the 100th time, he shot his arms out in celebration but accidentally hit Jude's head in the process.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you. Are you alright?" Connor tossed his game controller on the couch and quickly examined Jude's cut. "It's not bleeding and I don't think the stitches ripped."

"It's alright. I think I get them out tomorrow." Jude softly touched the stitches and winced. His forehead was still bruised pretty badly.

"So, did Jesus get in a bunch of trouble?"

"Huh?" Jude had no idea what Connor was talking about.

"You know, for giving you that cut. Is he grounded?"

 _Crap!_ Jude totally forgot that he told Connor that Jesus did it and not Robert.

"I lied about this cut." Jude pointed to the gash on his head. "Jesus and I didn't get into a fight."

"Okay… well if Jesus didn't do it, who did?" Worry took over Connor's face. He was prepared to kick some ass if someone hurt his boyfriend.

Jude paused and prepared to recall the painful memory. "Last Friday, Callie's birth dad, Robert, called her and told her that Sophia, that's her half-sister, tried to kill herself. He asked if he could pick Callie up from school and take her to the hospital to see Sophia. Well, the whole thing was a lie. He kidnapped Callie and was going to force her to live with him in the mountains. Luckily she had her phone on her so our moms were able to track her. They got her back but he had beaten her really badly. I guess he made bail or something because he came to the hospital while my moms were gone and he went into her room. He locked us out and Jesus and I had to break down the door. When we got in there he was hurting Callie. I tried to get him off but he threw me to the ground and I hit my head on Callie's bed. I was unconscious for like, four hours." Jude wiped away a tear. "I'm sorry that I lied to you."

Connor sat in complete silence. He was in shock and was trying not to cry.

"Connor, I need you to say something. Please, don't be mad at me. I just didn't want you to worry."

"No, I'm not mad. Promise. But, I'm so sorry. This should never have happened." Connor pulled Jude into a tight hug. "What's going to happen to Robert?"

"There is a trial on Friday. We all have to testify."

"Are you nervous?" Connor rubbed Jude's back.

"I don't want to do it. I can't… I can't face him. He destroyed Callie's happiness. I want him to die." Jude jumped up off the couch. "Why do all of these bad things keep happening?! Callie and I finally found a family that truly loves us. They feed us, and love us, and they don't hurt us! But bad things keep happening! I can't do this anymore Connor. I hate feeling so helpless and so alone."

Connor rushed to Jude's side. "You aren't alone. You have two moms who love you and four siblings who would fight for you forever. And… you have me. I will spend my whole life trying to make you feel safe."

Jude buried his face into Connor's shoulder. "Connor… I- I love you."

Connor smiled and help Jude tighter. "I love you too. You know, you've never told me about your other homes. And you don't have to tell me if you don't want too, but I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. It won't scare me away."

"Let's just say that I would rather die than go back to any of those homes. They were _really_ bad, Connor. And I don't want to worry you with all of the details." Jude wiped away a tear. "Maybe I'll tell you about them some other time. But not today."

"That's okay. I'm just glad that you and Callie are safe now. Do you want to go up and lay down for a while? I don't really feel like playing video games anymore."

Jude nodded and let Connor lead him upstairs. The two laid down in Connor's bed and snuggled until they fell asleep.

A couple hours later Jude woke up to the feeling of someone watching him. His eyes shot open and jumped a little when he saw Connor smiling down at him.

"Connor! You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing?" Jude jumped off the bed and tried to quickly regain his composure.

"I was watching you nap. You're cute when you sleep!" Connor teased playfully.

Jude checked his watch. "I don't have to be home for a couple hours. Do you want to go to the beach now?"

"Sure!" Connor grabbed two beach towels and some snacks to take with.

The two walked hand-in-hand to the beach. Jude was a little nervous to be holding hands with Connor in public. The last time they were publicly affectionate other people made fun of them. But, he decided to not let it bother him. He was proud of who he was and he was very proud of his boyfriend.

"Is here good?" Connor stopped at a place near the rocks where the sand was soft and it was away from the crowds.

"This is perfect." They laid down on their towels and tossed their shirts and shoes into a pile on the rocks. "Do you want to come over for dinner? I'm sure my moms would love to have you over."

"I'd like that. It would be way better than eating tv dinners again." Connor smirked.

"Okay. I'm going to text Lena and let her know." Jude went over to the pile of clothes and pulled his phone out. As he was texting, he became oblivious to the situation taking place behind him. But, a word full of hate pulled him back to reality.

"Faggots!"

Anger flared in Jude's chest. He whipped around and found a group of boys harassing Connor.

"Stevens, you were so much cooler before that fairy changed you!" A kid named Ryan yelled.

"First of all, asshat, Jude isn't a fairy. And if he is, then I guess I am too! Second of all, Jude didn't _change_ me! I've always been like this. I didn't choose to be gay any more than you chose to be straight. I'm the one who kissed Jude first. I instigated the relationship! He was worried that jerks like you would make fun of us. Not surprisingly, he was right! I'm proud of who I am and I am damn proud of my boyfriend!" Connor got louder and louder as he defended himself and Jude. He also got right up in Ryan's face.

"Whatever. You'll never be cool again. You're ruined!" Ryan took a step back and spit in Connor's face.

"Hey!" Jude yelled from the rocks. "I suggest you walk away right now! My mom is a cop and I'll have you arrested for assault and a hate crime!"

The other boys who were standing with Ryan quickly ran away at the thought of being arrested.

"Hate crime? What the hell are you talking about Foster?" Ryan hadn't moved away from Connor, but he turned his attention to Jude.

"You just spit in my boyfriend's face. That assault. Not only assault, but assault of a minority group."

"Do you seriously want to fight this fight? I will win. Every. Single. Time." Ryan shoulder checked Connor as he made his way over to Jude. When he reached his target, he stood inches away. Ryan towered over Jude and easily had fifty pounds on him. Ryan swung at Jude, but Jude ducked and tackled Ryan to the ground.

"I told you walk away!" Jude twisted Ryan's arm up around his back and held him down to the sand. Jesus had taught Jude a couple wrestling moves in case he ever needed to defend himself. "I'm going to let you go. If you follow us I won't hesitate to call the police." Jude let Ryan go and gathered his and Connor's things.

Connor picked up the towels and shook the sand off of them. He smiled when Jude reached him. "That was… amazing!" He pulled Jude into a tight embrace and kissed him passionately on the lips.

Ryan jumped to his feet and dusted the sand off of his clothes. He watched as Jude and Connor kissed and ran in other direction.

"I don't think we have to worry about them anymore." Jude joked.

"How did you do that? I mean, no offense, but he was way stronger than you. Way stronger that both of us!" Connor was shocked at the strength Jude had just displayed: physical and mental.

"Jesus taught me some stuff and I guess adrenaline just took over." Jude smiled. "Maybe I can show you sometime."

"I'd like that… very, _very_ much." Connor smiled and took Jude's hand.

The two walked back to Connor's, more in love with the other than ever before.

 **So I know this is out of character for Jude, but I don't like that he is portrayed as the weak one always. I thought it would be nice if Connor could be protected by Jude for a change. I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you think/what you would like to happen next! -SDD**


	20. Chapter 20

**Okay, first of all I want to apologize to you all. I'm sorry it took me so long to update this story. I've just been working on my other one** ** _New Intelligence_** **and it's really hard to write two stories at the same time. But, anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Friday**

The family got ready for the day that morning in complete silence. Everyone was replaying in their heads what questions were going to be asked and how they had to respond to them.

Callie sat on her bed after getting dressed and pressed the oxygen mask to her face. Every time she thought about going on the stand she started to have breathing troubles.

"The cars are leaving in 5 minutes! That means hurry your butts up!" Stef called from her room. "I'm talking to YOU Mariana!"

"Hey!" Mariana called back sounding just a little hurt. She walked back into her bedroom from the bathroom and sat down next to Callie. "Are you scared?"

"I'm more annoyed than anything. But yeah… I guess I'm a little scared. I know that he is going to be in handcuffs and won't be able to get to me. But the last time I thought I was safe he came back and hurt everyone." Callie breathed in deeply, trying to absorb as much of the oxygen as she could.

"Don't worry. I'm sure if he even flinches Jesus will pound the living crap out of him." Mariana said with a laugh. Callie smiled back and thanked her sister. "I'm going downstairs. Do you need anything?"

"Will you get mom for me? I can't carry this thing downstairs by myself."

Mariana nodded and bounded off out of the room. Stef returned second later with a worried look on her face.

"Are you alright, love? Mariana said that you needed my help." Stef rushed over to her daughter and quickly surveyed her for any obvious signs of injury.

Callie laughed. "Mariana blows things ways out of proportion. I'm fine. I just need help carrying this tank downstairs." Callie stood and wrapped the tubing and mask around the tank so they wouldn't get tangled in the wheels. "I have to go to the bathroom and then I'll be ready to go." She handed the tank off to Stef who wheeled it out of the room and down the stairs.

Callie walked slowly into the bathroom. She'd lied about need to go. She just needed some time to calm herself before the craziness of the day started.

"He cannot hurt you. There will be guards in the room. He'll be twenty feet away at a table. You will be safe. He is going to prison." Callie said to herself in the mirror. She started to apply a little bit of concealer to help hide one of the bruises but decided it would be best if the judge could see all of her injuries for how they were.

Five minutes later everyone was in the cars headed to the courthouse. All of the kids rode together in the SUV with Brandon driving and the moms took the Toyota.

"This is all going to be over today, right?" Lena asked from the passenger's seat.

"I hope so. Bench trials usually don't take nearly as long as jury trials. There are piles and piles of evidence against Robert and Jill. If we're lucky the judge will make her decision today and we can put all of this behind us." Stef tightly grasped Lena's hand in her own. The rest of the ride was in silence as they couldn't think of anything encouraging to say to the other.

Once the two cars pulled up outside of the courthouse, the press swarmed the family. They snapped pictures and shoved microphones in Callie's face to try and get a statement.

"Back off!" Jesus yelled as he shielded his sister from the vultures. "Get the hell away from us!" He wrapped an arm around Callie and used the other to swat away microphones.

The family got inside the building safely and headed straight for the courtroom. Callie sat in between Jesus and Brandon who tried to form a protective bubble around their sister. Mariana sat next to Jesus and linked hands him. Jude sat on the other side of Brandon who put a strong arm around him and held him close. Stef and Lena took their seats in the row behind their children and smiled at the unity between them.

Robert, Sophia, and Jill were brought in next. They were all in fancy clothes that made them look like model citizens. Jill's make-up was perfect and not a hair was out of place on Sophia's head. The cuts on Robert's face were stitched up perfectly. He only looked like he had been in a minor accident, not a full on brawl.

The prosecution attorney had decided to charge Sophia too. They decided that she was most definitely old enough to know that what happened was wrong. She was being tried as an adult.

After the judge came in the lawyers made their opening statements. The court reporter read through the list of witnesses and the testimonies began. The Adams-Fosters had to leave the room so their testimonies wouldn't be skewed by what they heard other people say.

The officers who had helped Stef rescue Callie testified first followed by the paramedics and the doctors who treated Callie.

Stef and Lena came next. They talked about the frantic texts and calls they got from Callie. Stef testified to the threatening call she got from Robert. It was played for proof. Brandon, Jesus, Jude, and Mariana gave their testimonies of what happened when Robert locked them out of Callie's room. Pictures documenting their injuries were shown. While Jesus was testifying the defense attorney tried to tear apart what he was saying.

"So you're telling me that you and your thirteen year old brother kicked down a door that was _locked_ and _barricaded_. I'm not saying that you're weak Mr. Adams-Foster, but you aren't superman! How did you complete such an amazing act of strength?" The lawyer rested against the witness box. He examined his nails as if he were bored with what was happening. He was so close that Jesus could smell his cheap cologne.

"My little brother woke me up incredibly panicked. He told us that Robert had went into Callie's room and had locked him out. We were both so amped up on adrenaline. We used every ounce of strength we had so we could save our sister."

"And when you broke into the room you attacked my client, correct?"

"I wouldn't say _attacked_. He had his hand over my sister's mouth. She was struggling!

So Jude ran in and shoved him off. But Robert threw him to the ground and knocked him out. He gave Jude a concussion!" Jesus looked to the judge for sympathy.

"Yes, we have already heard Jude's testimony. I don't think it needs to be repeated. Anyway, your older brother Brandon came in and the two of you continued to _beat_ my client."

"Objection! Mr. Hanson doesn't seem to be asking Mr. Adams-Foster a question here, Your Honor." The prosecution attorney, Mr. Kim, jumped out of his seat to Jesus' defense.

"Sustained. Mr. Hanson, either ask a question or sit down. Let's move this along." The judge said from her seat.

"My apologies, Your Honor. I guess my question is… why? Mr. Quinn just wanted to see his injured daughter. How do you know that he was the one who gave her such horrific injuries? How do you know he was hurting her when you destroyed hospital property to break into a private room in the Intensive Care Unit?"

Jesus started to answer, but Hanson cut him off.

"You don't know do you? You jumped to conclusions and then you jumped my client!" He stared angrily at Jesus. "I have nothing left for this witness."

"I wasn't jumping to conclusions!"

"Your Honor, I'm finished. Will you please instruct the witness to step down?" The lawyer said from the defense table.

"No! Your Honor, Mr. Hanson asked me a question. Don't I have the right to answer it?" Jesus asked, clearly pissed off.

"He's right Mr. Hanson. Please continue." The judge nodded to Jesus who sighed in relief.

"I wasn't jumping to conclusions. Robert had been arrested earlier the day before for assaulting my sister. He had cuts and bruises on his hands. The prison doctor testified that his injuries were sustained from a physical altercation! He wasn't supposed to be anywhere close to the hospital. And if he just wanted to 'see his injured daughter' why in the hell would he barricade the door? Yeah, we destroyed the door. But we would do it again in a heartbeat. Callie was thrashing around in her bed trying to get away from him when we got in there. Robert attacked Jude so we fought back. I don't regret it. I'm not ashamed. I'm not sorry. I'm not going to give in to your ridiculous assumption that _Robert_ is somehow the victim here." Jesus took a deep breath to calm himself. "There is your answer, _sir_. Now I'm finished."

The entire room fell silent. Robert and Jill sat at the table looking defeated.

"Thank you, son. You can step down now." The judge instructed Jesus. He stood and straightened his suit.

He walked out of the courtroom and immediately to the bathroom so he wouldn't cause a scene.

"Hey, you did great man!" Brandon walked in after his brother.

"B, I swear if those creeps get out of this I'm going to…" He stopped himself before he said something he couldn't take back.

"It's going to be just fine dude. Callie is testifying next. We need to go support her."

Jesus nodded. By the time the pair took their seats with Mariana and Jude, Callie was already being sworn in.

"Thank you for being here today Ms. Jacob. I'm sure it's not easy to recall what happened." Mr. Kim set down a glass of water for Callie who happily accepted it.

"It's not easy, but it's something that I have to do." Callie answered quickly.

"So, can you tell us what happened on the day in question?"

Callie nodded and started talking like she was reading from a book. She'd told her story so many times that it always came out the same. She felt like she was watching a movie and explaining it. She talked about the fake texts and Robert telling her how they were all going to be a family. She said that when she tried to jump from the car Robert handcuffed her.

"I'm sorry, I need to take just a minute." Callie reached down and pulled the mask to her face and cranked the wheel of the tank to let the oxygen flow.

"Callie, you take all the time you need. I'm going to ask you some yes or no questions until you feel like you are ready to continue, okay? All you have to say is yes or no. There is no need for a lengthy explanation." Mr. Kim walked back to the prosecution table and refilled Callie's water glass.

Callie agreed.

"You are using an oxygen tank because your surgeons had to remove a piece of your lung due to the savage beating you endured. Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"You begged the defendant to take you back to your home, but he refused. Yes or no?"

"Yes." Callie breathed in the sweet oxygen and became relieved when she felt her lungs start to open up.

"You told the defendant that your foster mothers, Stefanie and Lena Adams-Foster, had severely beat you and that you needed him to save you. Yes or no?" Mr. Kim turned and stared directly at Robert and Jill

"Absolutely not." She pulled the mask from her face. "My moms love me. They would never, ever hurt me."

"Thank you Callie. I just have few more questions for you. Are you ready to continue?" He turned back around and smiled at Callie sweetly.

"Yes, I'm ready."

"When you woke up at the house, what happened?"

"I realized that my hands and feet were tied to the bed that I was on. I was terrified. Mrs. Quinn came in and tried to get me to stop screaming. She told me that they tied me down so I couldn't run away from them. Then she said I had to call her mom from then on. And she asked me if I wanted cheese on my hamburger. She said my 'father' was making dinner. She acted like everything was completely normal! So did their daughter, Sophia."

"And after Mrs. Quinn left, what happened?"

"Robert came in a little while later. I got made when, he too, tried to act like everything was normal. He got furious. He beat me. He used his hand and his feet. And then when he stopped he tried to apologize. But I yelled at him and made him leave. The police arrived soon after that. Mrs. Quinn and Sophia came into the room and started to shove clothes into bags. Mrs. Quinn said that we had to leave because the police were there to try and take me from them. When I refused she said something about how Robert would get what he wanted and what he wanted was me. She started to drag me to the door but I escaped her grasp. I hit my elbow against a window and broke it. They ran out of the room when I held a jagged piece of glass up."

"Thank you, Callie. No further questions." Mr. Kim gave Callie a reassuring wink and went back to his seat.

"Just a few questions for this witness your honor. You testified earlier, Ms. Jacob, that when you and your father arrived at the house he tried to get you out of the car but you spit at him. And you just testified that you threatened your step-mother and sister with a jagged piece of glass. Is it possible that you are leaving out some details? Maybe you became violent towards your father and he did what he had to do to subdue you? After all, you testified to two violent acts."

"First of all, those people are not my family. Robert is not my dad, Jill isn't my step-mom, and Sophia _is not_ my sister." Callie looked directly into Sophia's eyes. She wanted Sophia to hurt like she had. "Second of all, no, I did not become violent. Even if I had do you really think all of this was necessary? I had to have two surgeries because of what he did to me. They had to remove a section of my lung because it was beyond repair from the beatings I endured. So, no, his acts were not justified if that is what you are implying." Callie said. Pride washed over her. She'd never felt proud of herself before that moment.

Mr. Hanson's face crumpled. It was like he knew that his defense had been torn to shreds.

Robert, Jill, and Sophia all testified last. But the family sat in the lobby of the courthouse. They couldn't stand to listen to the three of them lie. After about two hours they were called back in and they listened to the closing statements.

"Thank you, everyone, for your testimonies today. It's been a very long day with very few recesses. But, I feel that I have all the evidence that I need to make my decision. We will adjourn for thirty minutes. At that time I will give my ruling." The judge banged her gavel and the court cleared quickly.

The judge was right. They had been in court since 9 am and it was going on 6 pm. The family decided it would be best to go get a quick supper before they came back to hear the verdict.

"I think it is going well." Jude said. They had all been eating in silence in the food court at the mall. Everyone looked shocked when Jude spoke. "I mean, the defense attorney got destroyed by Jesus and Callie. He has no argument!"

"Jude is right. But I don't think the judge is going to find Jill guilty. I don't know why, it's just this feeling that I have." Callie stared down at her meal that she had barely touched. She couldn't eat because of how nervous she was.

Everyone nodded in agreement and finished their meals in complete silence.

When they had taken their seats in the courtroom again, they all sat in the same formation as when the day had started. Callie in the protective circle of her siblings and the moms behind smiling proudly.

"All rise!" The bailiff called when the judge entered.

Everyone stood quickly to show respect for the judge. "Be seated." She smoothed her judicial robe and opened up a folder that sat in front of her. "I have spent the last thirty minutes going over every single piece of evidence that was brought before me. I've come to my decision. Will the defendants please rise?"

Jill, Sophia, and Robert stood, linking their hands.

"Jill Quinn, on the count of accessory to kidnapping in the first degree I hereby find you not guilty."

Callie went numb. Her ears started to ring and her breathing increased.

"On the count of unlawful imprisonment in the first degree I hereby find you guilty. Your sentencing will be handed down immediately. Jill Quinn, you will be taken into custody by Central California Women's Facility. You will be remanded for one count of unlawful imprisonment. You will serve a period of no less than four years and no more than twelve years. Bailiff, please take the prisoner into custody."

Sophia screamed. She jumped and latched onto her mother.

"No! Please don't take her from me! Mommy please!" Sophia cried. The bailiff broke Jill from Sophia's tight grasp.

"Order! Miss Quinn, control yourself!" The judge banged her gavel. "I am ready to proceed. Robert Quinn, on the multiple counts of assault and battery of a child in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, threatening a police officer in the second degree, kidnapping in the first degree, and breaking a restraining order in the second degree… I hereby find you guilty on all counts. Your sentencing will be handed down immediately. Robert Quinn, you will be taken into custody by Folsom State Prison. You will be remanded on all counts for which you have been found guilty. You will serve a period of no less than seventy-five years and no more than three hundred and fifty years. Bailiff, please take the prisoner into custody."

A wave of relief washed over Callie. Jill and Robert were going to prison for a long time. They couldn't hurt her again. But, Sophia's verdict still had to be handed down. Callie felt conflicted. She hated Sophia for what she had done, but was it really right to send her to juvie?"

"Sophia Quinn, on the counts of accessory to kidnapping and accessory to unlawful imprisonment, I hereby find you not guilty by reason of mental insanity or mental defect. Your sentencing will be handed down immediately. Sophia Quinn, you will be remanded to the San Diego Juvenile Detention Center's mental health wing for a period of no less than one year and no more than two years. At the time of your release, you will be placed into an ACS facility until a suitable foster home can be found for you. Bailiff, please take Miss Quinn into custody. This court is adjourned." The judge banged her gavel one final time and the court erupted into applause.

"Callie, we did it! Robert and Jill are going to prison!" Stef pulled Callie into a tight hug but pulled back when she realized her daughter wasn't responding. "What's wrong, love? Aren't you happy that they were found guilty?"

"Of course I'm happy. I'm just worried about Sophia. I don't think she should be sent to a psych ward." Tears started to well in Callie's eyes as she recalled horrible memories. "I know how bad those places can be."

Stef looked shocked at her daughter. Callie had never mentioned being in a psych ward a juvie.

 **I just wanted to clear some things up. First of all, I know the sentencing for Robert is really extreme (three hundred and fifty years). But that is actually something that happens quite often. In fact, the longest prison sentence ever handed down in the US was 10,000 years! Second of all, I hope you aren't too mad at me for having Sophia be charged! But I think I have a good story line going for it. Don't forget to leave me some reviews!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Callie, what did you mean by that? You can't just drop a bomb and walk away! We need to talk about this!" Stef called after her daughter. As soon as the family got home from court Callie went straight to her room to avoid talking to her moms.

"Go away! I shouldn't have said anything. Just forget about it!" Callie slammed the door to her room which only made Stef mad.

Stef pulled open the door. "You know better than to slam doors in this house! We talk about what we are feeling!" Stef walked over to Callie and sat her down on the bed. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to yell. I'm not mad at you, I just want to talk about this."

Lena came upstairs when she heard the yelling but was relieved when she saw the two had calmed down. "Mom and I just want to try and help you. And if we need to we'll try and get Sophia some help."

Callie groaned in annoyance but knew Stef and Lena weren't going to let her out of it. "After I was sent to juvie I was begging the guards to just listen to me. I needed them to hear my side of the story. Every time I tried to say that my foster dad was beating Jude they just ignored me. Finally I decided that I had to come up with a plan. I had to get all my facts in order so I would have bullet proof case. I stayed up for three days straight. I guess I got really agitated from the sleep deprivation." Callie wiped away a tear and continued. "One of the guards told me that my social worker had called to let them know that they had deemed the home safe for Jude to stay. They found no reason to remove him from our foster dad's care. I freaked out! The guards put me in a straight-jacket in front of everyone. They tossed me in 'the cool down room' which was just a padded cell. After I was in there for a few hours some doctors came and took me to the mental health wing. They pumped me full of meds and would leave the restraints on me because they said I was at risk for hurting myself."

"Oh, Callie." Stef pulled Callie into her arms and rocked her gently. Lena sat down next to her wife and daughter in complete shock.

"They told me if I was good they would let me go back to general population. I think I was in the psychiatric ward for two weeks. I was so doped up that I didn't even know my own name."

"Well we have to do something about this! Someone needs to be held responsible!" Lena was fuming. She couldn't believe that people could just get away with something so horrible.

"I already tried. I called every public defender I could when I got here. But they all said that what they did was justified." Callie looked back and forth between Stef and Lena as she tried to read their expressions.

"She's right, Lena. She was in their custody. If they felt she was at risk…" Stef rubbed Callie's hand. "Do you want to tell us what it was like?"

"No. I've processed it as much as I can. I'm over it. But, I don't think Sophia needs to be there. She isn't strong enough. I hate—I mean, I really don't like her because of what she helped Robert and Jill do but I can't let another kid rot in there. She won't be the same when she gets out. And then she'll just be tossed in some group home until she ages out of the system."

Lena took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "Okay, well I'll get in contact with Sophia's lawyer in the morning. We will set up a meeting with the judge. Callie, they are going to want you to speak on Sophia's behalf. Are you prepared for that?"

"As long as she can be out of my life forever afterwards? Sure, I guess so. Can I go to bed now?" Callie pleaded. She felt like a little kid as she leaned into Stef but didn't care.

"Of course, sweetie. Get changed into your pajamas and brush your teeth. I'll come back in after a little bit." Stef kissed Callie's head and walked into her own room.

"Goodnight my love. I'm so very proud of you for going up on that stand today." Lena leaned over and gently kissed Callie's cheek. "We'll talk in the morning some more about what is going to happen. But try and get some rest for now." Lena left after that and followed in Stef's suit to their bedroom.

"Why don't you think she told us about that? She's opened up about everything else; Liam, her mom, her previous foster homes!" Stef sat on the bed with her head in her hands.

"I think we need to realize that there is possibly more Callie hasn't told us. She's a very private person; she doesn't open up unless we pry. She's a lot like you in that aspect." Lena gently took her wife's hand in her own. "Do you think Jude is the same way? He hasn't told us _anything_ that has happened to him except the ridicule he received from his last foster dad."

"I suppose it's definitely a possibility. But should we really push them about it? I mean that could only make them close themselves off even more." Stef was conflicted. On the one hand, she wanted to dig deep into her children's hearts and find out what pains they had endure before they landed with her family. But, contrarily, she was afraid of what she would hear. Would she be able to handle it?

"I guess we just let them know that we are always here to talk to. We can ask if anything is bothering them and maybe, just maybe, they will let us in even more. It's hard, my love, it's very hard. But we will get through this rough patch. I promise."

Stef agreed silently. "I'm going to tuck Callie in. Will you make sure the other kids are quiet? We really don't need Jesus and Mariana arguing about something and waking the entire neighborhood."

Lena laughed and kissed Stef before making her way downstairs to hold down the fort.

Stef changed into her own pajamas and then went to make sure Callie was resting.

"Mom?" Callie asked as soon as Stef entered the room.

"What's up, Callie?" Stef sat down on the edge of the bed and began running her fingers through Callie's long, curly hair.

"Will you stay with me for a little bit? I know that he is in prison but I can still see him when my eyes are closed." Callie's eyes glistened with tears in the dark room.

Stef smiled sadly at her and readjusted herself. She leaned against Callie's headboard and pull her daughter close; similar to the night Callie had seen Liam and the Mexican street festival.

Within in minutes Callie was sleeping peacefully with her head rested on Stef's chest.

"Hey, you look comfortable." Lena poked her head in the door and smiled at the sight before her. "I decided to call Sophia's lawyer tonight. I just wanted to get it out of the way. He says that he is happy to hear that Callie will speak on Sophia's behalf. He is going to contact the judge in the morning. I guess there is a pretty good chance that Sophia will be transferred to a regular psychiatric facility instead of stay in the one at juvie."

"Okay, well I guess I'm glad to hear that. I just have a hard time believing that the Sophia we have dealt with over the past week is _really_ who she is. I'm guessing her parents messed her up pretty good." Stef reached a hand out for Lena who happily took it. "I think I'm going to stay in here for a while. Every time I try to get up she just latches on tighter."

"Well you better not leave me in that bed all alone tonight, woman!" Lena teased. She leaned down and kissed Stef on the lips and then gently kissed Callie's head. "Goodnight, my loves."

Lena blew a kiss to Stef as she walked out. Stef smiled, wondering what she did to get so incredibly blessed with such a beautiful wife and such wonderful children.

She tried one more time to escape Callie's grasp on her t-shirt but was only met with an upset whimper from Callie.

"Well, it looks like I'm going to be here all night, huh?" Stef whispered to Callie even though she was sleeping heavily. Callie finally relaxed again and snuggled even closer to Stef. Stef smiled and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she too was sleeping peacefully.

And for the first time in nearly a week, Callie didn't wake screaming because she'd had yet another nightmare.

Stef didn't lay awake praying to God, asking Him to let the trial go well.

Lena didn't cry as she remembered the sight of all of her children in the emergency room, injured by Robert's hand.

All of the Foster's slept peacefully, thankful that they were safe. Thankful that the monster who had nearly destroyed their family was locked behind bars.

For the first time in a long time, things seemed as if they were going to be okay.

 **Don't forget to leave me some reviews! This story will soon be coming to a close. I plan on having just two more chapters! I want to thank all of you for your wonderful support! You are so awesome! If you would like me to keep writing Fosters fanfics just leave me some ideas in the reviews or you can pm me! If you do give me an idea, let me know if you want it to be short (one or two shot) or if you'd like it to be longer.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 **Just a quick AN… To the guest "Casey" who left the review about why Stef and Lena shouldn't "force" Callie to open up: Can you point out to me where they force her to open up about what happened? First of all, after Callie does tell them about what happened in the psych ward, Stef asks if she wants to talk about it and Callie says no. That was it; end of discussion. Also, after Stef and Lena retreat back to their room, Stef asks Lena if they should push them (being Callie and Jude) about what happened in their previous homes. She realizes that it could potentially make them less likely to open up. Second of all, I know that all the things you listed can be harmful to someone when they aren't ready to talk about their past; believe me, I'm writing this section of the story with first-hand knowledge. I'm not coming at this blind. Yes, it can be detrimental if someone** ** _forces_** **another person to open up (and forcing would imply that there is a threat, either emotional or physical, behind it). But, with little pushes in the right direction it can be** ** _so good_** **for the person. It helps them know that there are people there for them. After you open up about hurtful things and share your burdens and fears with someone, so much healing will follow. So again, if you can just point out to me where I had Stef and Lena "forcing" Callie to open up, that would be great.**

 **Wednesday**

"Today's the day." Stef woke up to Lena's soft lips on her cheek. She opened her eyes and was met with Lena's bright smile shining back at her.

"Are you nervous? Because I'm nervous. I kind of want to throw up right now." Stef rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Stef, everything is going to be fine. We won't let Callie out of our sight for one second. We _will_ be adopting her today. We need to get up, though. We have to get the kids out of bed or we'll never make it to the courthouse on time." Lena pulled her wife out of bed and was met with a loud groan. "Oh don't you give me that sass! I already get enough of it from Jesus."

"I can't wait to never step foot in that courthouse again. We have basically spent the last week in that place. Between the trial, Sophia's change of custody hearing, and now the adoption? I am just relieved that in a few hours our lives won't revolve around that building." Stef brushed her teeth quickly and then went to go wake the boys. Lena took the girls, which was _almost_ as difficult as raising the dead.

"Rise and shine, my loves!" Lena called as she entered Mariana and Callie's room. Lena went for a more direct wake-up call while Stef coddled the girls until they finally crawled out of bed.

The girls groaned loudly, almost as if they were in pain. Lena laughed as they pulled their quilts over their heads in unison.

"Mama, just five more minutes. Please!" Callie begged from under her covers.

"Make it an hour!" Mariana called back.

"How about this: if you aren't out of your beds in the next thirty seconds, I'll cut your bathroom time in half this morning!" She nearly fell on the floor laughing as both girls shot up out of their beds. Callie of course was a little slower due to her healing wounds. "I thought that would get your attention!"

"Mama is way too harsh in the mornings!" Mariana complained once Lena was out of ear shot. "I like it better when mom gets us up. It's less… hostile."

Callie giggled at her sister's crotchety mood in the morning. "Mariana will you help me with some make-up before we leave? It hurts my arms too much to hold them up for that long. And I don't exactly have the steadiest hand these days. My eyeliner ends up looking like the time Jesus and Jude convinced us to let them do our make-up."

"Of course I'll help you. And yeah, that was absolutely horrendous! Jesus destroyed my favorite lipstick!" Mariana smiled at the memory. About a week before the whole Robert incident, Jesus and Jude entered the girls' room one night complaining that they were bored. With a lot of begging and bribery, the boys managed to persuade the girls that allowing them do test out their make-up skills was somehow a _good_ thing. Callie ended up looking like a raccoon and Mariana like a rouge commercial.

About an hour there was a banging on Callie and Mariana's door.

"Mariana!" Jude called from behind the closed bedroom door.

"Yeah, come in Jude!" She hollered back. "What's up buddy?" She asked once he was inside.

"Can I borrow your blue nail polish? Connor just got here and we want to do our nails like we did for my adoption." His cheeks flared red.

"Of course you can. You know where it is! And make sure you help Connor this time; he ended up looking like he held hands with a smurf last time!"

"Thanks!" Jude ran off into the bathroom to retrieve the supplies and then went downstairs to meet Connor at the kitchen table.

"Will you do mine, Jude? I'm not very good at this yet." Connor blushed and smiled awkwardly.

Jude laughed at how spot-on Mariana's claim was. "Sure. But you're going to have to do it by yourself eventually!" He teased.

After about five minutes of silent nail-painting, Connor finally spoke again.

"Remember how I told you that I was going to live with my mom in LA?"

His words made Jude freeze up. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I remember." Jude continued working on Connor's nails as he recalled the incredibly upsetting conversation he'd had with his boyfriend just a couple weeks previous.

"Well, I'm not anymore. Her work is transferring her to Germany for six months. But when she comes back she decided that she is going to live in San Diego. That way I'll be able to see both of my parents." Connor spoke very flatly. Jude couldn't tell if Connor was happy or sad about the situation.

"I guess that's good and bad, right?" Jude looked up and was met by Connor's confused eyes. "It's bad because I know how excited you were to live with your mom. I know you miss her a lot."

"Yeah, I do. But it's good because now I don't have to move away from you!" Connor beamed.

"Well, yeah that! But I was going to say it's good because now your mom will be living here when she gets back. You won't be so split between your parents." Jude shoved Connor playfully. But when Connor bounced back he planted a big kiss on Jude's lips.

"Oh gross! Would you two get a room?" Jesus complained when he came down the stairs.

"Why, because they're gay?" Brandon retorted as he bounded down seconds after his brother.

"No! Obviously I don't care about that, you ass. You seem to have forgotten that we have _two mothers_." Jesus said defensively. "I don't have a girlfriend so I don't want to see _anyone_ making out. It's not fun when you're single!"

"Oh boo-hoo! You are with a different girl every week! So stop your whining, dude." Brandon said with annoyance lacing his voice. "You were just making out with that Brittany girl like two days ago!"

"Whatever man! Being single sucks!"

"Hey, watch it!" Lena said as she, Stef, and the girls came downstairs.

"Mama, 'sucks' isn't even a bad word!" Jesus whined.

"You watch yourself young man! Or I'm going to have to beat you up with these sweet babies!" Stef jokingly kissed her biceps as she teased Jesus.

"You wanna go mom? I'll take you down right now!" Jesus and Stef proceeded to fake wrestle in the kitchen.

"Every morning! Okay, if you two are going to act like animals, then take it outside!" Lena called over the noise.

"Mariana, I need you to paint my nails! It took me too long to do Connor's and I'm too slow to do my own in the time we have left. You're faster than me. Help!" Jude shoved the bottle of nail polish into his sister's hands.

"Okay, sit still!"

Everyone was swarming around the kitchen in opposite directions trying to get some breakfast before they had to leave. Just as they were all settled, the doorbell rang.

"Well, this is just perfect!" Lena said flustered.

"Just sit, love. I'll handle it." Stef pecked Lena on the cheek which seemed to calm her.

Stef jogged to the door and opened it to reveal Dana, Stewart, Sharon, Mike, and AJ. "Well look at this motley crew!" She smiled and welcomed everyone into the house. "We just sat down for breakfast, so everyone please grab whatever you like."

"Oh thank you very much, my dear, but Stewart and I had just a lovely breakfast on the plane. First class really does pay off you know!" Dana joked as she gave Stef a tight hug.

"Mama, daddy!" Lena called when she saw her parents come in to the kitchen.

Everyone exchanged hugs and kisses with the grandparents and Brandon greeted his dad and AJ. The entire family squeezed around the table together and enjoyed a nice breakfast.

 **One and a half hours later**

"The cars are leaving in one minute! If you aren't in them, you aren't coming!" Mike called up the stairs to the kids.

"Thank you, Mike. My voice either isn't loud enough or they choose to ignore me!" Lena laughed as she put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher.

"No problem. Well, it looks like it worked!" Mike pointed to the stairs as all seven kids came barreling down.

"Kids in one car, adults in the other!" Callie yelled as they ran outside. "We're taking mom's car!"

The adults broke down into laughter. "It's so nice that they ask for our permission, isn't it?" Stef said as she wiped tears from laughter away from her eyes.

The adults followed the kids outside and piled in to the SUV Dana and Stewart had rented from the airport.

A few minutes down the road, Mike broke the silence. "So, I wanted to get some opinions from all of you. I value all of your thoughts and I need some advice." He said from the front seat.

"Well, don't leave us hanging!" Stef leaned forward and patted Mike's shoulder from the seat behind him.

"I've been doing some thinking lately and uhh… I think that I might want to…" He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. "I want to adopt AJ. I've talked to B and he's completely cool with it. He's a great kid and he deserves a safe home… forever. And I can give that to him! What do you think?" He twisted his hands together nervously as he waited for the responses.

Seconds ticked by without a word being spoken. Just as Mike was about to say something, Sharon nearly screamed in excitement.

"I'm going to have _another_ grandson! Mike, you will make a wonderful father to that boy!" She said with tears streaming down her face.

"Mike, this is great news! AJ is going to be ecstatic!" Lena said from the back seat. Everyone joined in with choruses of congratulations and words of encouragement.

"Thank you, really. It means a lot that _all_ of you are supporting me with this." Mike said as they pulled into the parking lot of the courthouse. He emphasized "all" for Stewart, Dana, and Sharon's benefit. Even though they weren't related by blood, he considered them all to be family and grandparents to his hopefully soon-to-be son.

The crew of fourteen met at the entrance to the courthouse. The kids were all laughing loudly when they joined the adults.

"What are you kids laughing at so hard?" Stewart asked with joy on his face.

"Oh, nothing! We just had a really fun car ride!" Connor explained.

Just as they all walked inside, the court officer called Callie's case. Suddenly all loud laughter was extinguished from the group. Joyful, exuberant smiles were replaced with cautious, but happy, looks of encouragement. They all filed in and took their seats. Callie, Stef, and Lena sat at the table in front while everyone else sat behind in the gallery.

Everyone stood when the judge entered and when he told the room to be seated Callie was the only one to remain standing. She felt like she was on a small island in the middle of a raging ocean. Every other time she'd come into the courthouse, things either didn't go her way or were for the pain that Robert had caused.

"Callie, you have been through so much in the last nine months. Your adoption was denied twice, you found out about your birth dad and then later found out he was a real bastard. Sorry, pardon my French." The court room filled with nervous snickers. "You were just here for that trial, which I am glad to see went your way. I'm sorry you have had to go through so many trials and tribulations. But, I am glad to see that you have landed safely in the Adams-Foster's family. I don't see any reason to pull this out any longer." The judge rearranged the papers in front of him. "Stefanie Marie Adams-Foster and Lena Elizabeth Adams-Foster, are you willing to love this child and treat her no differently than if she were your biological child?"

Stef and Lena stood, their hands intertwined. "We are, Your Honor."

He smiled and continued. "Callie, congratulations. You are _officially_ part of the Adams-Foster family."

Everything went in slow motion after that. The entire family jumped out of their seats, clapping and crying tears of joy. Callie was pulled into a mama-sandwich and was peppered with kisses by both moms. As soon as she was released from the hug, she was immediately pulled into a sibling-sandwich and was then pulled to each grandparent and then Mike.

The family took pictures with the judge. First just the Fosters but the all fourteen of them squeezed into the frame. Luckily the bruises on Callie, Jude, Brandon, and Jesus' faces healed for the most part and weren't visible in the pictures.

"So, where do you want to eat Callie _Adams-Foster_?" Sharon said as she pulled her newest granddaughter into another hug. "We'll go anywhere you want!"

"Actually, I don't want a super fancy meal. I just want to go home, order pizzas, and sit around the kitchen. I mean, if you would all rather go out we can do that!"

"Callie, your idea sounds wonderful. Mike and Stewart are on pizza duty!" Stef declared.

Forty minutes later everyone was once again crowded around the table in the kitchen laughing and telling stories.

"So, I have an announcement to make." Mike said when there was a break in the conversation. "I've already cleared this with Callie, so don't think that I'm trying to steal her thunder. I just wanted to announce this when the _entire_ family was together." He turned his attention to AJ. "AJ, you have been so great to have in the house. You are a wonderful kid and you've been put through so much. So, AJ, what do you think about making this your final stop?"

AJ's eyes were wide with amazement. "Do you mean like… Mike, are you saying that you want to adopt me?" His eyes brimmed with tears at the thought.

"Yes of course I mean adopt you! But I have to warn you: you won't just get me and Brandon in this. You're getting every single person in this room."

AJ was silent trying to think of the right way to say yes. "It would be pretty stupid of me to say no, huh?" He broke out into a smile and pulled Mike into a tight hug.

The room erupted into cheers and claps.

"Hey! I need all of you to follow me into the living room!" Brandon called over the excitement.

The family followed his lead and they all crowded around the piano.

"So, I started this piece of music a couple weeks before Callie and Jude came to us. At that moment, it was just this…" Brandon started playing the piano. Callie recognized it immediately. It was the song he played for her when she asked how he felt when Stef and Lena asked if they could adopt Jesus and Mariana. It was simple but beautiful. "But, then came Jude…" He added the light melody that so perfectly captured Jude's essence. "And finally Callie…" Once Brandon added Callie, the whole piece seemed to come together. Everything flowed beautifully.

"B, that's lovely." Stef leaned down and kissed her son on the cheek.

"I thought I was done then. My family at this house was complete. But then I realized that so many parts were missing. My family isn't just the people in this house. So, I added my dad..." He demonstrated a thicker bit, representing Mike's strength. "And then Connor came into the picture and made our baby brother so happy..." The accompaniment to the melody of Jude seemed to mimic a conversation that was going back and forth, representing the love in Connor and Jude's relationship. "And of course I could never forget my grandparents…" Brandon let his fingers fly and played a beautiful one-of-a-kind classical strip, representing the wisdom in all of his grandparents. "Now I can finally add my newest brother. Our start was a little rocky, but we got over it soon..." As he smiled up at AJ, the snippet that he played started off dark but soon became cheery, representing the newfound brotherhood between himself and AJ. He stopped playing and turned around to face his family. "By themselves, all the little pieces sound okay. Although you can tell they are a part of some unfinished, bigger piece. They just don't seem quite right alone. But, when you put them together, everything fits. It all works." He spun back around and immediately started on the finished piece.

Everyone teared up as they heard the final composition come together. They could all hear their individual pieces and smiled as they heard how they complimented one another. None of the sounds clashed. They all flowed and worked with each other perfectly.

Brandon spoke again as he played. "The best thing about this piece is that it will never be the same two times in a row. The sounds will work together in any way that we want, because that's what we do as a family. We all love each other, we all fit."

He continued to play as the family sat and talked and listened to the perfect musical representation of themselves.

Everyone was surrounded by people that they loved dearly. In that moment, life couldn't have been better.

 **I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! I really enjoyed writing it. I love to imagine all of them being together as one huge happy family. Hopefully the description of the song wasn't too confusing! It makes sense to me but I tend to make things SUPER confusing! Anyway, only one more chapter until the end! What do you think is going to happen? Will it be a happy or sad ending? Let me know in the reviews!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 **Well, here it is: the VERY last chapter! You all have been so wonderful! I love reading all of your reviews and your support has been so great! I hope you will read the other stories that I am writing/the stories that I will write in the future. Hope you enjoy!**

 _One year later_

"Miss Quinn, we are here today to figure out a suitable placement for you once you are released from the San Diego County Psychiatric Facility in two days from today. Do you have anything to say on your behalf?" The judge never looked up from the papers in front of him as he spoke. He just kept signing documents, obviously wanting the day to be over with.

"Yes, Your Honor. I feel that I have been very successful in my treatment. I realize now that what my parents did… what my parents and _I_ did was horrendous. Callie never deserved that." Sophia turned around and locked eyes with Callie. "I am _so_ sorry for any hurt that I have caused you. I don't know why I went along with what my dad wanted." Tears welled over Sophia's eyes as she turned her attention back to the judge.

Stef and Lena squeezed Callie's hands comfortingly before the judge handed out his decision. Over the last year, Sophia had her ups and her downs during the treatment period. She'd tried to contact Callie a couple times and asked her to help get her out of the facility. Other times she would call in tears, begging Callie to forgive her for everything.

"Your social worker and your doctors say that you have been doing very well. You don't seem to be a risk to yourself or society." The judge took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I've been mulling over your case for several weeks. In situations like these, we typically try to place the child with family. But, the only family you have are your grandparents, who are not willing to take you, and then of course… your half-sister, Callie Adams-Foster. With no family willing or able to take care of you, I am officially declaring you a ward of the state of California. Unless your social worker can find a suitable home for you in the next forty-eight hours, you will be placed in a group home until a foster family is found for you or until you age out of the system. This is my final ruling. Court is adjourned." The judged banged the gavel and left immediately.

Sophia was taken away by doctors from the facility. As they were leading her out of the courtroom, she locked eyes with Callie; almost begging her to do something.

"Come on, love. Let's get back home. It's getting late." Lena whispered to Callie. The trio stood and prepared to leave, but was stopped by Sophia's social worker.

"Can I talk to one of you, please?" She said and walked to the opposite side of the room.

Stef and Lena looked at Callie and silently asked who should go.

"Both of you should just go. It would be easier that way." Callie walked out and sat down on a bench in the lobby and rested her head against the wall.

Back in the courtroom Stef, Lena, and Barbara, Sophia's social worker, stood in silence.

Barbara took a deep breath and looked the mothers in their eyes. "I really hate to do this, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't ask. Would you be willing to take Sophia in? I know that there are a million reasons why it would be a horrible idea, but you have to know that I am just keeping the best interest of Sophia in mind. It would help her recovery immensely to be near her sister and—"

"And what about Callie's recovery, along with the rest of our children?" Stef spit out as she cut Barbara off. "They all still have nightmares about what happened a year ago! How can you even come to us with that question? And Callie is Sophia's _half_ -sister. Keep _that_ in mind." Stef was fuming.

"You adopted Callie's half-brother, Jude. How is it different now?" Barbara tried to sound superior but she knew her comment would fall flat on its face. "I know Sophia is a difficult case, but you seem to do so well with difficult cases. I mean, just look at how far Callie has come!"

"First of all, Callie and Jude grew up together. They've known about each other for their entire lives. Callie only found out about Sophia a couple months before this nightmare started. And Jude's father didn't beat the living crap out of Callie and her siblings. This is completely different!" Stef took a step in the social worker's decision, but Lena quickly stepped in between them.

"Okay, obviously we have a lot to discuss. We have to talk to our children and see where they stand on the thought. You will have our decision in court. But, don't count on us. Keep looking." Lena grabbed Stef's hand and pulled her out to where Callie was sitting. "Are you ready to go, sweets?"

"Please. I just want to get home and see if my acceptance letter from the Institute came." Callie got up off the bench and walked out to the car, not evening waiting for her moms.

Callie and Brandon had both been waiting for weeks for their acceptance letters from the California Institute of the Arts. Callie had already been accepted to the School of Music at UCLA and Brandon to Julliard, but their dream was to go to the Institute together so they could be close to home.

"We aren't really going to take her in, are we?" Stef asked quietly as they followed Callie.

"I don't know. We are going to talk to the kids and get their thoughts. We do take in hard cases." Lena said, trying to lighten the mood. But Stef's glare told her she wasn't having it.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the driveway and Callie immediately ran to the mailbox.

"Anything?" Stef asked once they were all inside.

"Just stupid bills." She mumbled.

"Run upstairs and get your siblings. Mama and I need to talk to you all about something."

Callie nodded and shuffled up the stairs. She called to the twins and Jude from the landing but had to go get Brandon because he had headphones on and couldn't hear her from the doorway.

"Dude!" She said as she ripped the headphones off of his head. "You're going to burst your ear drums if you keep listening to music that loud."

"What crawled up your ass?" Brandon said as he tossed his headphones on his desk.

"I'm just not in a good mood. Moms want to talk to all of us." Callie turned to leave but stopped. "Oh, we still didn't get anything in the mail." She said solemnly.

Brandon cursed under his breath and followed Callie to the living room.

"Mama and I have something to ask you and we need your honest answers, okay?" Stef asked once everyone was seated. The kids all crammed onto the couch together while the moms claimed the armchairs.

"After court today, Sophia's social worker came up to us and asked us a question. She wanted to know if we would be willing to take Sophia in when she gets out of the facility that she is in. What do you all think about that?" Lena leaned forward to gage her kids' reactions, but their faces were blank slates.

The room fell completely silent. Seconds ticked by without anyone saying a single word.

"Are you kidding me?" Mariana whispered. Everyone turned their heads toward her, all wondering if they'd heard her correctly. " _Are you_ _freaking kidding me?!_ Does that lady seriously think that that would be beneficial to _any_ of us in _any_ way?" She popped out of her seat and started pacing the room.

"We know, it was a shock to us as well. We won't do anything that you all are not comfortable with." Stef looked back and forth between Callie and Jude but couldn't meet their eyes.

"Where would she go otherwise?" Brandon questioned. Memories from that horrible day were flashing through his mind and he couldn't seem to get them to go away.

"Unless her social worker can find a foster family for her, she'll go to a group home." Stef answered quickly.

"I'm saying no. I don't want anything to do with her." Jude said robotically. He'd just gotten over his fear of leaving the house alone and he felt like Sophia would just drudge up horrible memories.

"Yeah, I can't live in the same house as her. It would be too freaky." Jesus shuddered involuntarily.

"Okay, so Mariana, Jude, and Jesus are all saying no. B, Callie, what do you say?" Lena rubbed her temples as she spoke.

"Yeah, I agree with them. I don't see how this could be good for anyone." Brandon shook his head in disbelief. Why would the social worker even _think_ about asking Stef and Lena that?

"I really don't give a crap. I'm going to college in a few months anyway. So take her in for I all I care! Take in all the damn strays!" Callie's voice was getting louder and louder. "Why don't you just sign the adoption papers in two days at her final hearing?! Hell, she can have my bed, my hand-me-down clothes! I. Don't. Care! I won't be here to see her, so just do whatever the hell you want!" She seethed and pushed herself off the couch and stormed up the stairs.

"Well, I guess that would be a no from Callie as well." Lena stood and smiled sadly at her kids. "Don't worry, we never really planned on taking Sophia in. We figured it would be way too hard on all of you but we just wanted to make sure. Why don't you all go get ready for bed? You've got school in the morning."

The kids all kissed their moms goodnight and trudged upstairs.

"Do we talk to her about this at all?" Stef asked Lena.

"No, I think we just let her be. I'm sure it was just a shock to hear us even ask that question. She's had a long day. She'll be okay in the morning." Lena kissed Stef and led her up to their room.

Just after they turned off their lights to go to sleep, Stef spoke quietly. "Obviously I have my issues with Sophia, but I hope she gets a good foster home or at least goes to a good group home. I think she is a good girl deep down and it would be a shame to see her get lost in the system."

"I know, my love, I know. I'm sure everything will work out." Lena kissed Stef's forehead.

The two fell asleep soon after, hands intertwined and close together.

…

Two days later it was Saturday and time for Sophia's final hearing. The family was once again crammed into a bench in the courtroom. The judge was going over routine procedure with Sophia's doctors, asking them if she was ready for release.

"Well, everything seems to be in order here. Ms. Robinson, I see here that you have asked the Adams-Fosters if they would be willing to foster Miss Quinn. Has a decision been reached?" The judge looked inquisitively at Barbara who then turned to Stef and Lena and nodded, signaling them to come forward and give their answer.

Sophia turned around and faced the family. Her eyes were full of hope.

"Hello, Your Honor. I am Stef Adams-Foster and this is my wife, Lena. Although we are glad to see that Sophia's treatment has worked and that she seems to be on the right track… we do not feel that it is appropriate to have her in our home. Our children are still healing from their attacks and having Sophia in our home would only hinder their recovery."

The light in Sophia's eyes went out immediately.

"Thank you, Mrs. Adam-Foster. You may be seated again." Once Stef and Lena were in their seats, he continued. "Ms. Robinson, have you found any other suitable foster homes for Miss Quinn?"

Barbara stood slowly. "I regret to say that I have not. After extensive searching, I was not able to find any family willing to take Sophia in. It is now my recommendation that she is placed in a group home. Preferably Girls United. They seem to have a good program there. I will continue to search for a home for her."

"Very well. Miss Quinn, you will be in the custody and care of Girls United until further notice. This court is adjourned."

Barbara walked Sophia out of the room before she could try and talk to Callie.

"Well, that was short and sweet." Jesus said as the family walked out to the cars.

"At least she will be somewhere safe." Callie muttered.

"Kids, drive straight home. Mike and AJ are coming over for dinner." Lena called out before the kids left.

"Has AJ heard from any of the colleges he's applied too?" Mariana asked as they pulled into the driveway.

Brandon snorted. "It's more like has AJ chosen a college yet. UCLA and USC are trying to get him to come play football for them. I guess they saw him at one of his games this year at Anchor Beach and they want him really bad."

"Why haven't we heard about this?!" Jude asked in amazement. "I'm surprised AJ hasn't said anything to us."

"He's really scared that he won't be able to handle the academic pressure. I don't know why though. He's incredibly smart, he just doesn't apply himself enough." Brandon said.

"I'm sure he'll kick it into gear once he's in college." Callie responded as they walked into the house.

"Well it's about time you got here! Food is going to be here any second." Mike said with a laugh.

"Where are Stef and Lena?" AJ asked with a mouth full of apple

"Real classy dude. They were right behind us so they should be walking in any second." Jesus shoved AJ a little, instigating a wrestling match.

"We're here and so is the food!" Lena called from the foyer. She and Stef walked into the kitchen but jumped out of the way right before Jesus and AJ crashed into them. "Do you boys _ever_ stop wrestling each other?!"

"Boys! Come on, sit down." Mike pulled them off of each other and pushed them towards the table.

Everyone seemed to leave their sour moods about Sophia at the door. They all laughed and told jokes as they ate dinner together. Mike and AJ had been coming over for dinner at least twice a month since Callie's adoption. They all decided that those dinners were their "whole-family dinners".

"So, uh… I think I've made a decision about school." AJ said when there was a break in the conversation. Everyone fell silent and stared, waiting for him to continue. "I'm not going to USC or UCLA."

"What? I thought you had your heart set on UCLA." Mike asked in disbelief.

"I really liked the thought of it but I couldn't figure out any major that I would want. Nothing seemed right. And I like playing football, but not that competitively." AJ looked around the table and looked at everyone's faces. They were struck with confusion.

"So, what are you going to do?" Stef asked, breaking the awkward silence.

AJ looked over at Mike and smiled. "Dad, I'm going to your Alma Mater."

Mike nearly spit out his drink in surprise. Not only because AJ had called him 'Dad' for the first time since his adoption, but because of his decision. "You're going to the police academy in Los Angeles?"

Lena's eyes grew wide with terror, Stef beamed proudly, and the kids' jaws nearly hit the floor.

"I sent in an application a while ago and last week when I went to go see Ty, he took me to the academy for my physical evaluation. I passed that and I got my acceptance letter today." AJ's smile was contagious.

"What about juvie? I thought you couldn't get in if you'd been in trouble." Jesus prodded from across the table.

"I thought so too, but I talked to the Captain and she said that she would make an exception for me. But if I screw up once, I'm out."

"Oh, don't you worry AJ. You'll do great!" Stef got up and pulled AJ into a big hug.

"You know, I was worried when you said you wanted to play football in college. But now… are you _sure_ you don't want to go to UCLA?" Lena asked nervously.

Everyone broke out into laughter. "I'm positive!" AJ said with a big smile on his face.

"Well, in that, case… congratulations AJ!" Lena joined in on the hug.

Jude's eyes grew wide and then he took off out of the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Mariana asked. They all turned towards the direction he'd ran and waited for his return.

"I got the mail… right before we left… for court." Jude said through labored breaths. He handed Brandon and Callie envelopes from the California Institute of the Arts. "These came for you."

Callie and Brandon shared a nervous look and then tore into their envelopes. They each pulled out a piece of paper and read silently for a few seconds.

"B… did you?" Callie asked with no emotion in her voice.

"Yeah, you?" Brandon turned and faced Callie. She nodded slowly.

They set the papers down and jumped out of their seats, pulling each other into a hug.

"Is this a happy or a sad hug?!" Mariana nearly screamed.

Brandon and Callie pulled away from each other with huge smiles on their faces.

The room exploded with applause.

"How did our babies get so old?!" Stef cried she pulled Callie, AJ, and Brandon into a hug.

"I don't know but I think I might have to fail them on purpose so they can't graduate in May!" Lena wiped tears away from her eyes.

"Whoa, not even funny!" AJ protested playfully.

Jesus, Mariana, and Jude jumped up and down in excitement. "We're gonna have our own rooms!" They sang as they danced around the kitchen.

Jude stopped skipping around and nearly shocked the room with how loud he yelled. "I call Brandon's room!"

"What?! No way! I get Brandon's room!" Jesus complained.

"No one gets my room!"

"Moms!" Jesus and Jude cried in unison.

"Oh would you stop bickering! We need to celebrate!" Stef walked to the freezer and pulled out a tub of ice cream. She dished out a couple scoops for everyone.

The rest of the night was spent calling the grandparents to give them the good news and Stef, Lena, and Mike sharing their favorite college memories.

They laughed so hard they cried. They teased each other. They loved each other.

They were safe. They were happy.

They were a family.

 **And that's a wrap! Again, thank you so much for all of your support! Let me know what you think of the ending! And be on the lookout for some new stories. If you'd like me to write something in particular, send me a PM and I would be happy to give it a shot!**


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